John Douglas, Mandate General Secretary said, “There are thousands of workers in the retail sector alone who experience low hour contracts and are living hand to mouth. We know this type of contract is being used as a control and disciplinary mechanism over workers, with managers allocating hours arbitrarily. He added, “A worker may be on a 15 hour contract but will regularly work 40 hours a week. If the worker makes a complaint or steps out of line, their employer can cut them down to the bare minimum removing their ability to earn a living and pay their bills. This is completely unacceptable and must be tackled.” He added, “While this investigation into zero hour and low hour contracts is to be welcomed, it has to be in the context that it’s a first step. We need to expand the parameters of the investigation beyond the eight hours and legislate to ensure workers are protected from unscrupulous employers under the false premise of ‘flexibility’. We have thousands of members on 15 hour contracts who would deem themselves in precarious contracts of employment, experiencing huge insecurity in relation to their earnings.”
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:30:16 +0000