Agency threatened with legal action

Louise Nousratpour in Bournemouth
Tuesday May 24, 2011
The Morning Star

One of Britain's major recruitment agencies was threatened with legal action today for breaching current employment law by denying its registered workers equal pay and conditions.

CWU assistant secretary Sally Bridge said the union had written to Manpower arguing that the contract the agency had issued before the implementation of a European directive this October was in breach of the 1996 employment law.

It was claimed that Manpower, which is the main agency supplying BT with temporary workers, has seized on a loophole in the law to deny future workers equal treatment granted to them under the incoming Temporary Agency Workers Directive.

The union said it had "suspicions" that Manpower was doing this at the behest of BT management because the contracts were being piloted at key BT sites including Doncaster, Warrington, Dundee, Newcastle and Lancaster.

"The union has sought independent legal advice on this matter and it reserves the right to legally challenge Manpower on aspects of this contract," Ms Bridge told the CWU telecom sector conference in Bournemouth.

"We will take the issue all the way to the European courts if necessary," she vowed before moving an emergency motion committing CWU to pursue legal action.

Liverpool clerical delegate Danielle Prout, who is employed at Manpower and has worked for BT for the past two years, said: "I'm doing exactly the same job as my other BT colleagues, but I am on less money and less annual leave and inferior terms and conditions, sick pay, overtime and bank holiday pay."

She said that the directive would be "a huge step forward" in ending exploitation of workers like her, but that Manpower was trying to deny her that right "hand in hand with BT."

Delegates unanimously backed the motion and vowed to launch a campaign to publicly expose Manpower and BT's "cynical and calculated move" unless they agree to tear up the contracts.

Conference also expressed disappointment at the directive, with delegates describing it as "weak and loophole-filled" which would leave the door open for unscrupulous employers like Manpower and BT to bypass the law.