Do temporary workers need permanent rights?

Today's proposal to bring equal rights to temporary and permanent workers looks like a piece of legal lunacy that ranks with the proposal for the straight European banana.

What? Surely we can't be opposed to equal rights for the legions of hard-working and unsung temporary workers at call centres, reception desks and server rooms across the nation?

Well, in principle no, but in practice yes. There are two classes of people here. First, take the highly skilled IT contractors who get well paid for their skills but also get greater insecurity because of their way of working.

Most contractors have generally argued for less regulation, not more. Many people go into contracting because they like the flexibility of determining their own work schedules and taking the occasional six-month holiday if the mood takes them.

This new legislation threatens them with a nightmare of extra bureaucracy with little or no reward in terms of extra money and security.

On the other hand, there are the less well-paid staff, such as call centre workers. They are often employed through agencies as a way to cut labour costs and so they end up earning the same or less as their permanent colleagues with few of the benefits.

Their employment conditions are clearly a matter that needs to be addressed but blanket legislation from Brussels can hardly be the best way to do it.

The UK government should work to stamp out exploitative labour practices in call centres as much as any other industry but not at the expense of stamping out those jobs altogether.

It's a question that requires a fine balance. If this new initiative from Brussels brings an improvement to the worst-paid employees in the UK's call centre industry we welcome it.

But if it seeks to bring us reams of extra regulation for no purpose - as we rather fear it might - then we can be thankful it's unlikely to take effect.