Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill

That is the CBI's figure, not the Government's. I shall deal with the detail of the Bill shortly. The debate has naturally concentrated on mistreatment at work. The UK has a higher proportion of its work force in permanent work than many other countries. Indeed, the UK has the second highest proportion of work force in permanent work in the European Union. Analysis from Eurostat also shows that the UK has significantly fewer people than many other EU countries working in the so-called informal economy, beyond the reach of employment law and protection. As we have heard, agency work is a relatively small but important part of our labour market. It allows both public and private sector employers to fill gaps in demand and deal with seasonal variation and cover for leave or long-term illness, and it generally adds to the flexibility of how the economy operates. It can be rewarding for many people and helpful to companies. Mistreatment can happen in a variety of circumstances, not just with agency work. Research carried out by King's college, London showed that on issues such as well-being, general health and positive attitudes towards work, agency and temporary workers were certainly no worse off and in some cases felt more positively than their permanent counterparts. In terms of the overall labour market picture, the Work Foundation, in a report published last year, said that the position of UK workers had improved over the past decade, in stark contrast to the decade that preceded it. None of that is to deny that there are occasions when there is mistreatment at work or that there should be a debate on the rights of temporary and agency workers, but it is useful to put the debate in the context of the overall UK labour market. A cornerstone of the success of the UK labour market over the past 10 years is that we have combined the flexibility that both workers and employers seek with improved conditions for people at work.