Comments on: The temporary agency workers debate http://www.tmponline.org/2008/02/22/the-temporary-agency-workers-debate/ The online political magazine and forum Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:39:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Tim Driver http://www.tmponline.org/2008/02/22/the-temporary-agency-workers-debate/#comment-417 Tim Driver Wed, 14 May 2008 14:49:35 +0000 http://www.tmponline.org/?p=344#comment-417 That's all good and well Stephen but I can assure you that the vast majority of agency workers are paid much worse than their permanent counterparts. I am an agency worker myself and earn the equivalent of £15,000 vs the permanent staff at the same grade who receive a salary of £18,000. I get 24 days holiday, they get 40.5 days. They get a pension and sick pay. I get neither. Very few professions actually pay agency staff more. NHS and teaching are the only two I can think of. Maybe this gross inequality is the reason why the TUC is taking such a close interest in this. As for your first point, there's no reason why agency workers at your company can't continue to be taken on as full time employees once these reforms are enacted. I'm sure your colleagues would have been more content if they had been payed fairly when they were agency staff. That’s all good and well Stephen but I can assure you that the vast majority of agency workers are paid much worse than their permanent counterparts. I am an agency worker myself and earn the equivalent of £15,000 vs the permanent staff at the same grade who receive a salary of £18,000. I get 24 days holiday, they get 40.5 days. They get a pension and sick pay. I get neither.

Very few professions actually pay agency staff more. NHS and teaching are the only two I can think of.

Maybe this gross inequality is the reason why the TUC is taking such a close interest in this.

As for your first point, there’s no reason why agency workers at your company can’t continue to be taken on as full time employees once these reforms are enacted. I’m sure your colleagues would have been more content if they had been payed fairly when they were agency staff.

]]> By: Stephen DAY http://www.tmponline.org/2008/02/22/the-temporary-agency-workers-debate/#comment-358 Stephen DAY Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:33:59 +0000 http://www.tmponline.org/?p=344#comment-358 A number of colleagues of mine have excellent fulltime jobs where I work, by starting as agency temps and being insiders when fulltime recruitment became pissible. They've told me it would have been very unlikely they'd have been considered as outsiders (eg because they have no university degree). My partner has worked as a nurse in the NHS, private health and as an agency worker. She assures me these roles are choices that suit people at different stages in their life, and she - now in fulltime employment - can not get agency colleagues to join, because they value the flexibility of agency work, and the better pay, especially compared with the NHS. I cannot see why the TUC is taking such a close interest in this issue, when the (ex-)agency workers I speak to are happy with the current situation. A number of colleagues of mine have excellent fulltime jobs where I work, by starting as agency temps and being insiders when fulltime recruitment became pissible. They’ve told me it would have been very unlikely they’d have been considered as outsiders (eg because they have no university degree).
My partner has worked as a nurse in the NHS, private health and as an agency worker. She assures me these roles are choices that suit people at different stages in their life, and she - now in fulltime employment - can not get agency colleagues to join, because they value the flexibility of agency work, and the better pay, especially compared with the NHS. I cannot see why the TUC is taking such a close interest in this issue, when the (ex-)agency workers I speak to are happy with the current situation.

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