Brown To Use EU To Deny Workers' Rights

The FT informs us that:

Britain is trying to strike a behind-the-scenes European Union deal on bolstering temporary workers' rights to lessen the risk of an embarrassing defeat in Brussels.

The government is holding secret talks with the European Commission over planned EU legislation on agency staff after blocking the proposal, along with a handful of other countries, for four years.

The draft law would give temps full pay and conditions after six weeks in the job. Britain has argued that the legislation could impose costs on employers and make work less flexible. Business groups say temps should receive full pay after a minimum of six months.

But the UK has been left increasingly isolated in its opposition to the proposal, and when EU employment ministers met in December it became clear that most member states wanted to push for the measure to be approved.

A meeting with the European Commission is set to take place this week. The government is seeking confirmation that a forum the prime minister hopes to set up with unions and employers would allow the UK to "apply the directive flexibly," according to an official

A derogation in the proposed EU law means its provisions do not have to be applied to every agency worker, where there are collective bargaining mechanisms in place to negotiate on the worker's behalf.

The UK does not have the direct equivalent of such mechanisms. But ministers believe the forum would fulfil this function effectively.

Any agreement with Brussels could pave the way for a union-wide deal over the divisive legislation.

Gordon Brown has yet to get business or union agreement to his proposed forum. His government envisages the body would work along the lines of its low pay commission, agreeing the period of employment after which temporary and agency workers would be entitled to the same pay and treatment as permanent staff.

The Trades Union Congress said it was waiting for the government to clarify the proposed terms of reference of the new body.

Union scepticism will be fuelled by the news that the UK is trying to get reassurance from the European Commission that the body would mitigate the cost to Britain of the European measure.

Many union leaders believe the government has lost its fight in Brussels over agency workers' rights and they therefore have little incentive to accede to a domestic initiative that might reduce the impact of new European laws.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform refused to comment on the negotiations with Brussels. But an official said: "We're looking for an agreement [with the Commission] . . . that gives us the flexibility we need."

France takes over the EU presidency from Slovenia in July and is keen to wrap up outstanding dossiers. Paris has traditionally been hostile to British foot-dragging on EU social legislation, but President Nicolas Sarkozy is keen to avoid a confrontation with Mr Brown's government.

The Temporary and Agency Workers Bill was supported even by one Tory MP, astonishingly the old Monday Clubber and FCS hand John Bercow - New Labour is too right-wing for him! And John Smith, to whom Brown is allegedly the rightful heir who has been restored following the overthrow of the Blairian Usurpation, promised that workers' rights would apply to all, from day one of employment, and regardless of the number of hours worked.

But if you want that very modest thing to happen, then this is what you now need to do. It's no use emailing me, as several people do each day, to say "keep up the good work" and "we'll be voting for you" (welcome though of course such encourgament is) if nobody says "Yes, I will stand".

Two years is a while, and in that sense an opportunity where fundraising and publicity are concerned. But it is not all that long. The Election will be coming round soon enough. Where will you be then? In other words, where are you now?