The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) in the UK has said that sustainable reform and flexible staffing should be introduced as cost-effective techniques, as advocated in its ongoing Public Sector Resourcing initiative.

Responding to government plans to axe £6 billion from the public sector budget in the next 12 months, director of external relations with the REC Tom Hadley noted this would put more pressure on the "fragile jobs market".

"The reality is that temporary and contract workers are not brought in on a whim - they perform crucial frontline roles," he remarked, stating that this will place greater stress on agency coffers.

Mr Hadley continued, saying that it is important to come up with innovative solutions in order to see lasting change in production.

Moreover, the body recently issued a call to members of the new coalition cabinet - announced last week - confirming it would be approaching them regarding the issues currently having an impact on the recruitment industry.

Posted by Alex Donnell