| Meetings over a new EU directive which would give agency staff similar rights to permanent workers, have been postponed until 2008 after ministers failed to reach an agreement this week.
The legislation would give temporary agency workers the right to equal pay, training, holiday entitlement and pension entitlement to their permanent equivalents.
Britain has opposed the introduction of the legislation, stating that it would have a disproportionate effect on the UK’s flexible labour market.
"The UK agency sector is well established with one third of all agency workers in Europe employed here. As a result, current proposals in the Agency Workers' Directive will disproportionately affect the UK, particularly plans to make temporary workers eligible for equal pay six weeks into an assignment.
"Our position is that the derogation from the directive on pay should be extended to 12 months. This is in line with other employment rights like unfair dismissal and ensures that an ongoing relationship between the agency worker and the end-user has been established.
"We urge the government to stand firm during the negotiations and not to allow the competitiveness of British business to be adversely affected," stated David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
These sentiments have been echoed by many small business groups, who argue that the SME community would be discouraged from taking on new staff because of the increases in both cost and red tape.
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