Brussels, 20/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has adopted a draft EU law designed to provide a minimum EU-wide level of protection to temporary agency workers and to help the agency work sector to develop as a flexible option in the labour market (see EUROPE 20 March page 9). This proposal follows the final break-down of negotiations, after 12 months, between EU-level social partners (see EUROPE 21 February 2002 page 18). Ms Diamantopoulou explained to a press conference that the Commission had taken this political initiative in compliance with the Treaty, for proposing a directive because they wanted to maintain a social dialogue, and if the directive was abandoned, social dialogue would be killed with it. The third part of this directive on "a-typical" work (with short-tem contracts and temporary work) for which there is not principle of subsidiarity (the legal basis of the draft directive is Article 137 (2) of the EC Treaty) establishes the principle of non-discrimination, including the wages of the temporary or comparable worker in the enterprise in which the worker has been taken on. This principle applies as soon as the temporary worker has worked in the same company for six weeks with the same user undertaking (which is sought by European trade unions). The six weeks threshold is a deadline that protects the temporary worker and the demands of the business community, explained the Commission, which also noted that nine Member States have already integrated this non-discrimination principle into their national legislation, as proposed by the Commission (namely the six weeks threshold and the work in the same user undertaking). Countries where this hasn't yet happened are: Denmark and Sweden (where collective agreements exist), Finland, Germany (where it is applied after 12 months temporary work), the United Kingdom and Ireland (where there is no agreement for this kind of work). The non-discrimination principle covers the time of work, rest periods, night work, work for pregnant women and the young, paid holidays but does not cover pensions, social security, bonus payments (Christmas etc.), health care. There are, however, three exceptions to its application: when a collective agreement impacts on temporary work, when the temporary worker has received a long-term contract from the temping agency and s/he is paid even when not working, if there are objective reasons for not applying the basis of the principle (e.g. if the temporary worker does not have the same experience as the worker s/he is replacing).