The government is being urged to abandon plans to end a longstanding ban on agency workers filling in for employees who are on strike.
The plans have been described as an ‘ill-judged proposal’ with representatives of both the agency sector and unions agreeing that it is counter-productive, impractical and could prolong and inflame disputes.
A joint statement from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) says:
‘We both believe that using agency staff to cover strikes only prolongs and inflames the conflict between employers and their permanent staff.
It also risks placing agency staff and recruitment businesses in the centre of often complicated and contentious disputes over which they have no control.
Where a dispute occurs, the focus should instead be on negotiation and resolution to return to a normal service.
The proposal is simply impractical. There are currently significant numbers of vacancies for temporary agency workers. This suggests that many can pick and choose the jobs they take and are unlikely to opt for roles that require them to undermine industrial action.
Meanwhile, many roles that may be on strike require technical skills or training and impractical to fill with agency workers at very short notice.’
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In June, the government was defeated in the High Court after it rushed through new laws that allowed agencies to supply employers with workers to fill in for those on strike.
The presiding judge criticised ministers for acting in a way that was “unfair, unlawful and irrational” and reinstated the ban on agency staff being used to break strikes.
Despite this, plus strong opposition from employers and unions, ministers are restarting the plans.
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, commented, “Agencies across the country have been clear that they do not want the law changed again.
“The ban on direct replacement of striking workers reflects global good practice and protects temps and agencies from being drawn into disputes that are nothing to do with them.
“Removal of the ban does nothing to resolve those disputes either. The REC was clear in 2022 that this is a step which only causes problems for businesses and workers in reality – however good politicians think it sounds.”
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