Brown Nosing

Now we really do have to worry … we appear to have a new, cosy relationship with the French! Or, more correctly a Sar-kozy relationship.

I’m personally wouldn’t subscribe to the school of thought that suggests the French are all “cheese-eating surrender-monkeys” but Recruiters should pay special attention to any move to persuade the UK to align its Labour Laws more closely with those of France as a result of the new Anglo French Love-in; unless that is, they are prepared to move some way from their ‘workers rule’ position and put some flexibility back into their own employment policies.

During his recent State visit, French President Sarkozy suggested that “We stand stronger if we stand together”, which may be perfectly true in some quarters but I feel it is more likely that that we will stand together in longer unemployment lines if we move towards France.

I distinctly remember a lobbying visit to a French Socialist MEP in Brussels who informed me that “the British exploit child labour” and when I quizzed her, to explore her rational for this outrageous argument, she sited our cruel and abusive use of children to deliver newspapers (I would have struggled to keep a straight face unless I hadn’t known she was deadly serious!) To top it all, this individual was a member of the EU Employment Group and responsible, at least in part, for drafting or sanctioning the highly questionable legislation we have seen proposed by Europe over recent years.

I have seen deals done with legislation where Governments trade-off one demand for another and I believe Recruiters should argue a strong case for REC to be especially tough in its discussions with BERR to ensure flexible Labour Laws are preserved.

This is doubly worrying as France and M. Sarkozy take the Presidency of the European Union in July 2008 and will, I am sure, be putting that old chestnut The Agency Workers Directive – or some new incarnation or disguised variant of it – back on the table.

Gareth