November 22nd, 2007
Is the UK cornered on temporary workers’ rights?
An intriguing development here: it looks as if Britain has been cornered in a fight to settle two hugely controversial EU labour rules.
This would be more bad news for Gordon Brown, and infuriate some British employers.
To them, these laws - one on temps’ rights, the other on the maximum working week - are a pet hate, a sign of Brussels meddling in the UK’s flexible labour market.
But many countries are keen to get agreement on the rules, which are stuck in a legislative deep freeze after years of delays.
If the plan - put forward this week by the Portuguese EU presidency - goes through, the UK would have to compromise on one of the laws.
