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Big zero to zero hours
Unite says no to worker abuse
Amanda Campbell,
Sunday, September 7th, 2014
Zero hours contracts, short hours contracts, self-employment, agency workers – all had to stop, delegates agreed.
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With the latest ONS figures reporting at least 1.4m workers on zero hours’ contracts, stronger regulation was needed. Delegates welcomed Labour’s commitment to workers but insisted that rights for these workers should come in after 12 weeks.
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Action was needed and the conference agreed to make this into a major campaign.
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Unite assistant general secretary Diana Holland demanded that zero hours contracts and their like were all the same – and they had to end.
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“They all give power to the employer, the power to control other people’s lives.”
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“It is exploitation, its unacceptable, and it needs to come to an end,” she said.
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Diana added that it was outrageous how workers were bullied by employers, with the threat of withdrawing work. It was a repeat of what happened with the dock workers one hundred years ago.
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“We strongly welcome Labour’s proposals but they must be strengthened. Loopholes must be closed. There should be one definition of a worker, there should be real enforcement.”
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The motion was carried.
