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| Ed Miliband pledges to close agency workers 'loophole' | Ed Miliband pledges to close agency workers 'loophole' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Firms would not be able to undercut wages by paying agency staff less than permanent staff under a Labour government, Ed Miliband has said. | Firms would not be able to undercut wages by paying agency staff less than permanent staff under a Labour government, Ed Miliband has said. |
| Writing in the Independent on Sunday, the Labour leader said the party would close a loophole in the law that allowed for differing rates of pay. | Writing in the Independent on Sunday, the Labour leader said the party would close a loophole in the law that allowed for differing rates of pay. |
| Mr Miliband said he wanted to tighten the rules to "stop a race to the bottom with workers coming here from abroad". | Mr Miliband said he wanted to tighten the rules to "stop a race to the bottom with workers coming here from abroad". |
| Labour had "changed on immigration" since it lost power in 2010, he added. | Labour had "changed on immigration" since it lost power in 2010, he added. |
| Mr Miliband said the cost of living crisis was the most important context for the debate about immigration. | Mr Miliband said the cost of living crisis was the most important context for the debate about immigration. |
| "Low-skill immigration" risked "making the problems of the cost of living crisis worse for those at the sharp end", he told the newspaper. "It isn't prejudiced to believe that." | |
| 'Chronic dependency' | 'Chronic dependency' |
| He used the article to set out a number of policies on the same theme, including: | He used the article to set out a number of policies on the same theme, including: |
| "We have to change our country's chronic dependency on low-skill, low-wage labour. A dependency that is getting worse not better," he wrote. | "We have to change our country's chronic dependency on low-skill, low-wage labour. A dependency that is getting worse not better," he wrote. |
| "What chance of rising living standards for all when unscrupulous firms can exploit workers from abroad to get around the minimum wage? | "What chance of rising living standards for all when unscrupulous firms can exploit workers from abroad to get around the minimum wage? |
| "What chance of giving everyone a fair shot when recruitment agencies are allowed to recruit only from overseas, excluding those in the area from even hearing about the jobs?" | "What chance of giving everyone a fair shot when recruitment agencies are allowed to recruit only from overseas, excluding those in the area from even hearing about the jobs?" |
| Trade union umbrella body the TUC has said that agency workers are paid on average up to £135 a week less than permanent staff doing the same job. | Trade union umbrella body the TUC has said that agency workers are paid on average up to £135 a week less than permanent staff doing the same job. |
| 'Fearful of change' | 'Fearful of change' |
| It said one-in-six agency workers was missing out because of a loophole in the UK's implementation of the EU's temporary agency workers directive. | It said one-in-six agency workers was missing out because of a loophole in the UK's implementation of the EU's temporary agency workers directive. |
| There are an estimated one million agency workers in the UK, employed particularly in call centres, food production and logistics. | There are an estimated one million agency workers in the UK, employed particularly in call centres, food production and logistics. |
| Labour's pledge comes days after rules restricting the right of Romanians and Bulgarians to work in the UK were relaxed. | Labour's pledge comes days after rules restricting the right of Romanians and Bulgarians to work in the UK were relaxed. |
| Amid suggestions they could number up to 50,000, Prime Minister David Cameron has brought in measures restricting access to jobless benefits and NHS healthcare. | Amid suggestions they could number up to 50,000, Prime Minister David Cameron has brought in measures restricting access to jobless benefits and NHS healthcare. |
| Mr Miliband wrote: "Whatever the numbers of people that eventually come here, the concern that this has highlighted is not going away." | Mr Miliband wrote: "Whatever the numbers of people that eventually come here, the concern that this has highlighted is not going away." |
| He added: "This cost of living crisis is the most important context for the debate about immigration. It understandably makes people more fearful of the change that immigration brings." | He added: "This cost of living crisis is the most important context for the debate about immigration. It understandably makes people more fearful of the change that immigration brings." |