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The adoption last week by the European Parliament of the directive on temporary agency work is an important step forward for the protection of workers; it is particularly positive for workers in EU member states who are covered neither by national legislation or collective agreement.



After six years of intense political debate, the Council will endorse the new text without change in the coming weeks.

The corner stone of the regulation is the recognition of equal treatment from the first day of assignement between temporary agency workers and workers doing the same job in the user company.



This principle, as well as potential derogations, will have to be implemented by an agreement of national social partners, thus giving a boost to national industrial relations. UNI-Europa welcomes this development.



The legislation is broadly in line with the joint declaration UNI-Europa signed in May with Eurociett, the European employer's organisation for the sector. Unfortunately, the legislation does not include a prohibition to replace striking workers by temporary workers, as agreed in the joint UNI-Europa / Eurociett statement.



More than seven million workers are employed by a temporary work agency today. The EU legislation opens the way for a more regulated development of the sector.