Labour brokers, long seen to be union bashers, are becoming a fact of life for permanent workers and their trade unions. Unions are being forced to face the challenge of labour brokers, but are doing so mostly on an individual and inconsistent basis. Ravi Naidoo looks at the murky world of labour broking. He suggests that the issue should be tackled at a national level, and that all the major players – labour, government, consumers and business – could benefit.