Alex White (Labour)

The Minister of State referred to flexibility. Why is it that this great notion of flexibility is so privileged and elevated in the case of what employees must tolerate and sustain but never applies on the other side of the equation? Flexibility is something only looked for from employees. What about flexibility from employers and from this Government in terms of introducing basic standards?

The Minister of State said in his contribution, "I can say already that no government wants to see the emergence of agency working as the norm" but he then refers to "what might be termed "regular" jobs which provide for a stable, longer-term relationship between an enterprise and its employees". We all want this but the Government is standing in the way of it by refusing to implement this legislation.