Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill

It is an expensive way of addressing employment needs. These so-called permatemps are an unacceptable form of employment. Viktor, a Hungarian whom I met a couple of weeks ago—colleagues will know that I have a strong connection with that country as chair of the all-party group—is sleeping on the floor of a house with five other young men who are being exploited in Britain in 2008. His problems need addressing through my proposals and through the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North (Jim Sheridan), whom I congratulate on that. Many other examples of abuse can be cited, but I want to deal now with the Bill and the two issues that have historically been a stumbling block in progressing the matter. First, with regard to the qualifying period, some jobs require no training and a permanent employee would be taken on at the particular rate for the job. There can be no argument but that temporary employees in such employment should earn the same as their permanent counterpart from day one. Other jobs require particular qualifications or experience, where the responsibility of the temporary employee is the same as that of the permanent employee, and, again, they should be paid the same. For example, if a temporary replacement for a staff nurse with 10 years' experience is required, it is fairly straightforward to work out the fair rate for such work from the trust's pay scales.