The dread and pain of zero-hours contracts

“Lies, damned lies and statistics.” That was the damning comment on the government claim that the UK has record employment. Shirley Scott for the service group executive opened today’s debates at UNISON’s local government conference in Liverpool with a motion on zero-hours contracts. She pointed out that zero-hours contracts – now seen in local government, “particularly in social care”– are linked to “privatisation” and are simply a “cost-cutting measure”. Moves to “casualise” the workforce also have a negative impact on sick pay and pensions. Zero-hours contracts have seen workers punished for ‘late notification’ of not being able to do a shift – even when circumstances meant that they could not have given earlier warning. “Our members deserve better,” asserted Ms Scott. “Fair pay, security and decent conditions.” A social care worker for a private employer in north London spoke of how they, with colleagues, were all underpaid and scared to take sick leave: “We need to bring all social care back in-house. We are suffering from zero-hours contracts.” From Camden, Liz Wheatley described zero-hours contracts as “an attack on all of us,” noting that Camden councillors had defended using such contracts on the grounds of ‘flexibility’. For the union’s LGBT group, Anu Prashar asked whether, since “workers are often at the mercy of managers, do you think, if you told your manager you were LGBT, you’d get mor...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article News 2019 Local Government Conference casualisation zero-hours contracts Source Type: news