Date: 12 September 2011
Agency and other vulnerable workers need Trade Unions now more than ever to protect them from exploitation, Usdaw President, Jeff Broome told the TUC Congress today (Monday 12 September). Read the full speech...
Jeff Broome said:
"Usdaw welcomes the motion
from Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
(BECTU) on vulnerable and atypical workers.
As Trade Unions, protecting
vulnerable workers is at the heart of what we do.
We seek to extend the
protection of union membership to those who need it the most.
And this is why it is
important that the TUC continues to campaign on the issue of
vulnerable and agency workers.
We believe in fairness and
we believe in giving everyone a voice at work.
The Trade Union Movement
rightly welcomed the Agency Workers Regulations.
These are important
regulations which will deliver key new rights to many vulnerable
workers.
However, if these new rights
are to deliver equal treatment we need to ensure there is:
- Effective enforcement,
- Trade Union representation for agency workers
and
- Trade Union organisation of this group of vulnerable
workers.
Without enforcement,
representation and organisation, the new rights to equal treatment
will fail to deliver for agency workers.
This also has big
implications for the core workforce.
Because the continuing
exploitation of vulnerable workers will undermine and erode the
terms and conditions of the permanent workforce.
Usdaw has launched our own
Agency Workers
Campaign.
Our aim is to ensure that
agency staff know their rights and to organise agency workers to
get equal treatment.
We have successfully
launched our new website 'On Fair Ground' and have
provided guidance and information for agency workers, reps and
officials.
We have also made good use
of e-communications to reach out to this vulnerable group of
workers.
And we are winning the
hearts and minds of Trade Union Activists in the core
workforce.
So they understand the
importance of tackling the exploitation of vulnerable workers and
we all stand together.
Usdaw welcomes the TUC's
work on vulnerable workers.
Particularly the
new Basic Rights at Work website
which will provide vulnerable workers with vital information.
We need to work together to extend
this work and in particular to organise vulnerable workers."