Most people in permanent positions are safe in the knowledge that their working rights are protected if not my domestic law, then by legislation at EU level.

Even though job security has not been the best of late, with a spate of job cuts in many of the country's major industries and job strikes across key industry sectors, there is still a certain level of comfort that workers can enjoy.

But spare a moment if you will, for those whose simply do not have a good level of job security and work on a contract basis, practically not knowing where their next pay check will come from or even if they will be in employment at all in six months' time.

For these unfortunate souls who lack the security of those in comfortable high paying London jobs, having laws that guarantee them certain basic employment rights is a much welcomed lifeline.

You could virtually hear the collective cheer from the nation's contract, agency and temporary workers when it was announced today, that European employment ministers are meeting in Brussels for a key discussion that could extend new employment rights to all temps and people who work through agencies.

The Agency Workers Directive has been quite a long time coming - it was first proposed back in 2002. If adopted, the directive would put a stop to employers who give their temporary staff less pay, holidays and pensions than those who are employed on a permanent basis.

It is estimated that this new law would benefit 8 million of such employees who work in countries throughout the EU.

For some reason, the UK government has been opposed to the directive, arguing that if implemented, it will hit jobs and damage the country's flexible labour market.

There is some logic to this stance, but the bottom line is that people who work on a contract basis deserve to have equal rights with those who are permament employees. They work just as hard and contribute to the economy and as such, should enjoy equal benefits.

Britain and Germany are among the countries opposed to the directive, but millions of contract workers are hoping that they are outvoted when employment ministers meet to discuss the issue today - which is entirely possible although it is said that the vote is "on a knife edge".

A source in the Belgian capital told the Press Association that the UK government was rather sneakily offering deals to other countries if they supported its stance against an agency workers directive.

Some business groups in the UK have supported the government's corner and voiced their misgivings that such a change in the law could be bad for business and put up to a quarter of a million jobs at risk.

John Cridland, deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, said: "Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK choose to work on temporary placements and value the flexibility it gives them, whilst the economy benefits from firms' ability to meet extra demand at busy times."

Hopefully, the outcome of this meeting will give agency workers the rights that are due to them whilst not jeopardising the jobs of the UK's permanent workers, so both camps are happy.