Rise of the ‘prolecariat’

Why should five-star hotels in central London charging guests £300 a night have their poverty pay subsidised by taxpayers? It’s a good question posed by Unite’s Hugh O’Shea who has seen first-hand the emergence of a new group of workers, the ‘prolecariat.’

The ‘prolecariat’ are low paid and in precarious employment, scared about their position and treated as cheap commodities rather than people. It is familiar territory for Hugh O’Shea branch secretary of Unite’s Central London hotel workers.

“In the last 10 years there has been huge change in the large central London hotels with a dwindling number of staff on what are now seen as historic terms and conditions which paid above minimum wage” he told UNITElive. “We’ve seen a casualisation of the workforce with agency staff, bogus self-employment and outsourcing driving down pay and conditions.

“The relationship between the business and its workforce is breaking down. The workforce are just another type of cheap commodity, they are almost not seen as people at all.

“It is a workforce where people are holding down two or three jobs, working all hours just to survive. They are scared, frightened and on benefits.

“Casual workers with their low pay subsidised by the taxpayer is now part of the business model. The real benefit scroungers are employers who are not paying a decent wage and forcing their workers onto benefits.

“I am a taxpayer as well as a hotel worker. Why should my taxes be subsidising the poverty pay of five-star hotels in central London?

“The same hotel chains in New York have workers in strong unions and are on decent pay and conditions.  If these hotels can do that in New York they can do it in London.”

A new TUC report launching Decent Jobs Week highlights the emergence of a two-tier workforce and the rise of the prolecariat described by Hugh O’Shea. Millions are in ‘precarious’ jobs with 1.4m on zero or restricted hours contracts with no guaranteed income.

They earn ÂŁ300 a week less than those on permanent contracts. Four in ten of those workers earn less than ÂŁ111 a week, meaning they were not entitled to sick pay.

The Decent Jobs Deficit: The Human Cost of Zero-Hours Working and Casual Labour shows that average weekly earnings for zero-hours workers are just ÂŁ188, compared to ÂŁ479 for permanent workers. The research also reveals that zero-hours workers are five times more likely not to qualify for statutory sick pay than permanent workers as a result of their lower level of take home pay.

Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary commented,  “The growth of zero-hours contracts, along with other forms of precarious employment, is one of the main reasons why working people have seen their living standards worsen significantly in recent years. It is shocking that so many workers employed on these kinds of contracts are on poverty pay and miss out on things that most of us take for granted like sick pay.

“While it is good to see employment is rising, if the UK doesn’t create more well-paid jobs with regular hours we will continue to have a two-tier workforce where many people are stuck in working poverty.

“The increase in casual labour also helps explain why income tax revenues are falling which is not only bad for our public finances but for society too. The lack of regular hours and income makes it difficult for households to pay bills and take on financial commitments such as rents and mortgages.”

The Decent Jobs Deficit: The Human Cost of Zero-Hours Working and Casual Labour makes the following key recommendations:

•  All workers should have better access to permanent, secure employment with regular hours guaranteed.
•  Where individuals work regular hours, their employer should be legally required to issue them with a written contract which guarantees them their normal working hours on an ongoing basis.
•  Those working irregular hours should be paid an allowance on top of their normal pay to reward the flexibility they offer their employers.
•  All agency workers should have the same rights to equal pay as permanent staff.
•  Increased priority should be given to the enforcement of rights for vulnerable workers, including ensuring that care workers receive at least the national minimum wage during travel time between client appointments.
•  All workers, regardless of their employment status, must be given the same basic entitlements at work such as redundancy pay and the right to return to work after maternity or paternity leave.