Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill

In his customary fashion, my hon. Friend makes a powerful point. It is important to note that the survey of employers on their response to agency workers legislation and the agency workers directive revealed that 68 per cent. believed that they would recruit fewer agency workers as a result. That is 68 per cent. of them recruiting fewer agency workers. When asked whether they would recruit more permanent workers, shifting the emphasis away, only 32 per cent. said that they would recruit more. Inevitably, then, if this Bill is passed, people who have a job at the moment will be kicked out of it with very little prospect of somebody else taking them on. It is clear that that will happen if the Bill were to become an Act. It is all very well for us to pass legislation that we think is well meaning and will go down well with our unions at our union branch meetings and all the rest of it. However, we need to think about the individuals who currently have a job and are quite happy doing it under their present terms and conditions. If we are not careful, those of us here who are unhappy for those workers will end up putting them out of work because it goes down well at a union branch meeting. That, to me, is totally and utterly unacceptable. I certainly do not want to be party to any Bill that will lead to some of my constituents who are in a job and enjoying it being put out of that job as a result. Another problem of the directive is how it would affect productivity. Far more employers believe that this would have a negative effect on productivity in the workplace than believe it would bring benefits to the workplace. I am aware that time is moving on and I certainly do not wish to take up too much of the House's time, but I would like to mention some of the concerns raised by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. It also did a survey, finding that 84 per cent. of agency workers were satisfied with their assignments and that only 9 per cent. were dissatisfied. Furthermore, 66 per cent. of agency workers are satisfied with their pay, which is up from 56 per cent. last year. More and more agency workers are actually satisfied with their pay. Only 23 per cent. are dissatisfied. A large number—38 per cent.—said that they are not even looking for permanent work, which is a rise of 6 per cent. on the last quarter. It seems to me therefore that this Bill is actually a solution looking for a problem. Lots of employers are very happy with the current arrangements for employing agency workers, because they suits their needs and help their businesses grow. Many temporary workers are happy with their pay and conditions already, without any intervention from Government Members. Many people are being given opportunities that they would otherwise never get and many people will be in work as a result of current arrangements, when they would otherwise not be. We tinker with the state of play at our peril. We all know that the Bill will cause job losses. I did not come to this House to introduce legislation that costs people their jobs. I came here to try to create a thriving economy that puts more people in employment and creates more wealth for this country, but the Bill will have the opposite effect. The Government know that the Bill will have a negative effect on employers, and I urge them to have the courage of their convictions and vote against it on Second Reading.