We do urge caution on replacing Striking workers with agency workers. It is interesting to note that the TUC and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) put out a joint press statement, urging the Government to reconsider. We believe that Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC summed it up well by saying “The government’s proposal will not work. Agency staff have a choice of roles and are highly unlikely to choose to cross picket lines. Agencies want the ban to stay to avoid them being pressured by clients into supplying staff into hostile and potentially dangerous situations. Earlier this year, we saw the effect on agencies who inadvertently got drawn into the P&O dispute. That offers a salutary lesson that In all disputes, our aim should be to resolve conflict, not to prolong it. Inserting a different firm’s workers into the middle of a dispute can only ever inflame tensions”.
