The ONS release on the number of zero-hours contracts yesterday showed that there has a been a fall of 20,000 over the year. This is the first fall we have seen in the data series. However, at 2%, this is a drop in the ocean. There are still around 900,000 of these controversial contracts. Numbers…Read more…
Modern slavery
Sports Direct was named in three separate modern slavery trials within six months this year, all of which related to Polish migrants being sent to work at the firm’s Shirebrook warehouse through…Read more…
‘Ban zero hours’ call
Young zero-hour contract workers are more like to have worse mental and physical health than people of the same age in stable work, a study has found. The University College London study…Read more…
True cost of gig work
Trade unions have rebutted claims by a government appointed chairman of a review into insecure work – including zero-hour, gig economy and agency roles – that most people “want to work that way.”…Read more…
‘Totally useless measure’
Unite has slammed suggestions that nearly a million zero-hour contract workers be given the “right to request” fixed hours as “useless”. Responding to reports that a government inquiry will…Read more…
Modern work
What is happening in the world of work is understandably an issue in the general election. But it is worth remembering that last year the Conservative Government commissioned an Independent Review of…Read more…
Zero-hours contracts give the upper hand to unscrupulous employers, says UNISON
Responding to Office of National Statistics figures published today (Wednesday) that show that the number of workers on zero-hours contracts has increased to 905,000, UNISON general secretary Dave…Read more…
‘Flexible’ for who?
Amid the Brexit worry surrounding Parliament’s on-going debate over the triggering of Article 50, there appeared to be a crack of light from PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC). Despite the…Read more…
A million Christmas workers
The arrival of the festive season is a well-deserved break for most of us from a busy year. It’s a good excuse to put our feet up, relax, indulge in our favourite food and drinks and spend it with…Read more…
Why the ‘National Living Wage’ is bad for Britain’s Young Workers
On the 1st April 2016 the Government brought in the ‘National Living Wage’ – essentially a slight increase on the national minimum wage, with a different name. Employers must now pay workers at least…Read more…
Welcome change of heart
In a major climbdown from Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley following unrelenting pressure from Unite, the much-maligned retail giant finally caved to union, shareholder and public demands this morning…Read more…
No room to crow
Unite cautioned against complacency over today’s (Wednesday September 14) labour market figures warning that for millions the nature of work was becoming increasingly insecure. Pointing to a…Read more…
Unite Minimum Standards for Greater Manchester?
The next meeting of Unite’s Area Activists Committee for Greater Manchester will be discussing the motion below. It is taking place on Tuesday 6th December at the Unite Salford office. The meeting of the elected committee will be at 5:15pm, followed at…Read more…
Ban zero hours contracts call
While many had predicted that zero-hours contracts (ZHCs) would diminish as the economy picked up again following the financial crisis, successive annual figures show that these work arrangements…Read more…
Young workers worth ‘better than zero’
#STUC16 Young members were joined by other STUC delegates and TUC president Liz Snape in demonstrating for ‘Better than Zero’ workers’ conditions outside Café Nero in Dundee this morning.
Like some other businesses, Café Nero have made staff pay for the discriminatory so-called national living wage by a penny-pinching claw back of conditions like paid breaks and snacks. Under 25s don’tRead more…
Zero hours contracts and casualisation – bad for workers, services and the economy
#STUC16 The STUC will press the Scottish Government to work with trade unions to tackle the rise in zero hours contracts and casualised labour which undermine workers’ rights and their ability to organise. See all reports on the website
UNISON young member, Bernadette Lafferty brought a young workers’ perspective to the debate, telling delegates that she herself had personal experience ofRead more…
A boss’s ‘flexible friend’?
The number of people whose main job is on a zero hours contract may well soar to 1m by the end of the year if current trends continue, according to the latest figures released on Wednesday (March 9)….Read more…
The zero-hours nightmare is spreading: 800,000 now on zero-hours contracts.
Zero-hour contracts may be a dream for cost-cutting employers. But they are all too often a nightmare for workers. And despite widespread condemnation from politicians, they’re growing, with this year’s official statistics showing a 15% rise. 104,000 more people are now employed on zero…Read more…
‘UNISON means? Confidence, learning and not getting a pay cut’
Careworker Mitsy tells her story
The article ‘UNISON means? Confidence, learning and not getting a pay cut’ first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
End ‘Victorian’ work practices
A review by Mike Ashley into the use of agency workers at Sports Direct will be nothing more than a public relations stunt if it fails to end ‘Victorian’ work practices at the retailer’s Shirebrook…Read more…