Union exposes holiday pay cut

Some labour agencies are seeking to cut rates of pay in order to enable them to meet the demands of the Working Time Regulations on paid holidays without incurring additional costs, according to the GMB union.

The GMB claims evidence collected since the regulations came into force on 1 October shows that various employers are seeking to offset extra labour costs by altering workers' terms and conditions of employment. It is issuing all its organisers with a special negotiator's guide explaining operative rights under the regulations.

Union general secretary John Edmonds commented: "Working long hours is bad for your health. The GMB has long argued that there is a clear link between hours of work and accident and ill health rates. The regulations are not perfect. But they are an important step to civilised standards at work providing workers with a framework of decent protection."

He added: "We want to work with agency contractors and employers to ensure that together we can find the best ways to reduce long hours and resultant injury and ill health."