Proposed reforms to trade union laws come under fire from recruitment industry
Replacing striking staff with agency workers could be harmful to workers and clients, the recruitment industry has warned.
Addressing one aspect of the government's proposed reform on trade unions, Tom Hadley, director of policy at The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), said its members believed this would be used in few situations.
"Whilst we recognise that employers want to continue providing services to their customers during industrial action, we are not convinced that putting agencies and temporary workers into the middle of difficult industrial relations situations is a good idea for agencies, workers or their clients,” he said.
“Our members want to provide the best possible levels of service to their clients but they also have a duty of care to the workers they send out on assignment."
The Trade Union Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday (Monday 14th September) by 33 votes but trade union bosses have vowed to fight the Bill at every stage through Parliament.
Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC said: “The record books will show that this government’s first major act in office has been to attack the right to strike – a fundamental British liberty.
“We will continue to oppose it at each stage through Parliament. People can see that allowing employers to bus in agency temps to break strikes will tip the balance of power in favour of employers."
Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, added: “It is hard to find a shred of support for this shabby Bill. Agency trade bodies are worried about the impact on their members. Human resources specialists say it is counter-productive. The police have stated that union protests are peaceful and do not attract complaint or cause concern."
Sajid Javid, business secretary, said the Bill aimed to stop the "endless threat of strike action hanging over working people", such as ongoing threats of industrial action from London Underground and First Great Western.
At the reading of the Bill, newly-appointed shadow business secretary Angela Eagle, said: “It saddens me beyond words that we’re here today dealing with the most significant, sustained and partisan attack on six million trade union members and their workplace organisations that we have seen in this country in the last 30 years.
"With the number of days lost to strike action down 90 per cent in the last 20 years there is absolutely no necessity whatsoever to employ the law in this draconian way,” she added.
The Bill will now go to committee stage for detailed examination before its final reading in the House of Commons. It then has to pass through the same stages in the House of Lords before it can receive Royal Assent and become law.