NORTH-EAST Euro MP Stephen Hughes has welcomed a new European law which aims to improve employment rights for temporary agency workers.
The European Union directive, which was discussed in Strasbourg, will allow a temporary worker the same rights as company employees in relation to pay, holiday entitlement, maternity and parental leave and training and promotion opportunities.
Mr Hughes, a front bench spokesman on employment for the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, said only one in ten of the North-East's 61,000 temporary workers said they actually choose to be a temporary worker and the legislation should increase that figure.
He said: "There are doom-sayers predicting a dramatic fall in temporary agency work as a result of this directive. I simply don't believe them. The same prediction was made about the part-time directive, but the opposite has been the case. We have seen an increase in part-time working."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article