§ Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had on the appropriateness of Article 137 of the Nice Treaty as a legal base for the proposed EU Directive on Temporary Workers; and if she will make a statement. [105849]
§ Alan JohnsonThe UK has raised the question of whether a directive with a treaty base of Article 137(6) can cover pay. The European Commission and several other member states are of the view that it can because it only addresses pay in terms of non-discrimination and does not set absolute pay levels. The Government have continued to reserve their position on the inclusion of pay under Article 137 pending further clarification of the definition of pay.