Temps will become second-class workers if Agency Workers Directive doesn’t guarantee training, warns TUC

Temporary workers are losing out on training offered to permanent staff and so becoming ever less likely to secure a permanent contract, according to trade unions.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) says unless temps are given equal employment rights from the day they start working for a company, an ‘underclass’ will be created.

Employers’ groups remain opposed to calls for the proposed EU Agency Workers Directive to give temps full employment rights from day one.

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But Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said: “Far from having a bridge to permanent work, temps are in danger of being less likely to move into better paid, more secure work, as their training at work is almost non-existent.

“There is a simple solution – the EU directive could give UK agency workers new rights to equal treatment from the first day they are taken on, ensuring they get the same access to training and development as permanent staff.”