The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has written to employment relations minister Pat McFadden to complain about the negative image of agency workers it is pushing in its new publicity campaign.
APSCo claims the poster campaign, which is running online, in local press and public places, shows three workers in manual occupations - one of whom looks "utterly miserable". This reinforces derogatory stereotypes of temps as exploited and poorly paid, it claims.
APSCo chief Ann Swain said: "[The campaign] fails to show the variety and diversity of temporary workers in the UK today. Government figures show that just 20% of temporary workers are unskilled, and therefore likely to be paid near the minimum wage, which this poster doesn't reflect at all."
According to APSCo, future publications should "more accurately represent the reality of work for the majority of temporary workers". But what good would a poster campaign showing temps in managerial or technical roles with big smiles on their faces do?
Surely the point of the campaign is to highlight the plight of these vulnerable workers and raise awareness of their employment rights? Yes the image of the recruitment industry suffers because a minority of rogue firms exploit agency workers, but until that stops the government is right to focus its efforts on those who are more unfortunate.
