European Union plans to give a better pay deal to temporary workers have been blocked by four countries including Ireland at a Luxembourg meeting of EU employment ministers this afternoon.
The European Commission reacted angrily after seeing its proposals blocked by Britain, Denmark, Germany and Ireland at a Luxembourg meeting of EU employment ministers.
"There is no objective reason why the Council (of ministers) could not have reached political agreement on this directive today," said Anna Diamantopoulou, the commissioner for employment and social affairs.
"I am deeply disappointed, particularly given the long, hard hours which the [Greek] presidency and member states have devoted to clearing the way for agreement," she said, claiming that temps would now remain "second-class workers".
The opposition of the four countries centered on plans to give temporary workers the same level of pay as full-time members of the same company from day one of their employment.
The quartet wanted at least six months to expire before a temporary worker could qualify for equal pay, rejecting a Commission compromise for the pay rule to start after six weeks of a temp's contract.
"We need a more flexible approach to labour markets in the EU," said a British diplomat. "The last thing we need to do is to build more rigidities into the labour market."
The role of temporary staff in the EU jobs market has been growing steadily with agency contracts growing by 10 percent a year between 1991 and 1998, according to the latest European Commission figures.
AFP