Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill
9:30 am
Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston, Labour)
Too long, but no doubt we agree wholeheartedly that any attempt to amend the sittings motion so that the Committee sits on 17 May should be regarded as out of order, given that there is an important match on that day.
It is something of an unusual sittings motion for a private Member’s Bill, given that we are sitting on Wednesday mornings with the exception of 4 June. The Regulatory Reform Committee of which I am Chairman is undertaking a small study that will result in the hon. Member for Solihull and I being out of the country on that day. That is the reason for the exception.
With your indulgence, Mr. Hancock, and that of your fellow Chairman, Mr. Martlew, I shall at an appropriate time come back to the Committee with an amendment to the sittings motion to enable us to complete our business, but several events make that inappropriate at present. My hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs and the hon. Member for Huntingdon referred to such matters last night in the debate on the money resolution.
A discussion is being held outside this place to address a matter that all members of the Committee believe needs to be resolved at the earliest date. It concerns a proper mechanism and whether the solution lies with the Bill or with a different process that no doubt my hon. Friend the Minister will explain in some detail. It is appropriate that the Committee is appraised of the progress that has been made in discussions. That will be particularly helpful because it will set the tenor of how we progress through the Bill and identify the fundamental divisions between the parties. That started to show itself yesterday evening when we were discussing the money resolution.
Of course, the vote on the money resolution has yet to take place. If it is negatived or if we get to clause 4 today—I doubt that we will—we will be in a slightly difficult position. If the vote on the money resolution is negatived this afternoon, I propose to come forward with amendments to remove the necessity for a money resolution. However, that would not give the kind of flexibility that I think the current Minister and future Ministers would need to create the right mechanism to address the problem before us.
You will chastise me, Mr. Hancock, if I go into too much detail on the substance of the Bill, but suffice it to say its core aim is to create equal treatment for a class of workers who are currently in a disadvantaged position. I would have thought that in this day and age there would be no difference of opinion across the political parties on the need to address such an issue.