§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Mr. Bevan) of 20 December 1990,Official Report, column 315, what concerns the British Government had about proposals from the European Community for directives under articles 100 and 100A of the treaty designed to regulate the rights and benefits available to part-time and temporary workers.
§ Mr. Forth[holding answer 28 January 1991]: The directives would unnecessarily increase directly the cost of employing part-time and temporary workers and they would add to the burden of regulations on employers. The Government believe that the response of employers to such increased costs and regulation would be to reduce the number of people employed and that the directives would therefore have the perverse effect of reducing total employment and increasing unemployment.
In addition, one of these directives has been proposed by the European Commission under the wrong article of the treaty of Rome. Article 100a of the treaty explicitly excludes matters relating to the
rights and interests of employed persons".