Downing Street Says » Temporary Workers Regulations

» Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Temporary Workers Regulations

Asked to comment on the temporary workers regulations being concluded in Brussels and did he think they would go through, the PMS said that there was an ongoing negotiation and discussion on the subject. The Government’s position was that it was looking for an agreement that struck an appropriate balance between protecting workers, but without putting their jobs at risk. Put that the Government had been quoted as saying that it believed the regulations would cost 250,000 jobs if they went through, the PMS said it was not something he recognised. Asked for an estimate, the PMS said he did not have one and it depended on what was agreed. It was a very complex dossier and a number of countries had issues with it. The PMS said it had been under discussion for some time and the key for the Government was to strike the right balance between protecting the interests of workers while also ensuring that the flexible labour market in the UK was not put at risk.

Asked if a final decision would be reached tomorrow, the PMS reiterated that it was a complex negotiation and it was not only the UK that had issues with the dossier. Asked if the Prime Minister had spoken about the issue with other Heads of Government, the PMS said the Prime Minister spoke to other Heads of Government about a whole range of issues all the time, as people would expect. Asked if the Government had a red line on the subject, the PMS replied that there was a negotiation that was ongoing and he did not think that it would be sensible to have that negotiation in public.

Put that the Government could raise the issue at the EU Summit, the PMS said that would be a matter for the Presidency. Asked who the other countries were that had issues with the dossier, the PMS said that he did not want to be the person naming other countries, but he was sure people could easily determine that.

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