Katy today welcomed the announcement from the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform that agency workers would be granted equal pay and holiday rights as their non-agency colleagues after twelve weeks in a job. There are currently around 1.4 million agency workers in employment in the United Kingdom who currently find themselves at the wrong end of a two-tier work force.
Speaking on the subject Katy said ‘I am delighted that the government has finally acknowledged the vital role that agency workers play in the economy. This will benefit many of my constituents and is moving to help eradicate the unfair position which they had been in up until now. This is an issue which I along with many colleagues, both in the Unions and the Labour party, have campaigned on for a long time and I am pleased to see the government now listening and all our hard work paying off.’
The announcement comes at the end of a long campaign during which Katy has supported various private members bills and Early Day Motions on the subject. This is not the end of the campaign however. Agency workers will still not be given the same pension or sick pay as permanent staff members. Katy will now be working with colleagues in Parliament to fight to ensure that when a bill on the issue is presented before MPs that it is strong as possible for agency workers.