Labour’s ‘new deal for workers’ will not fully ban zero-hours contracts | Labour

19 comments

1. Good. Make a law that someone gets to choose between zero hours and full time hours. It works best for everyone

2. Good, they’re often a lifeline for students.

3. Some of Keir Starmer’s donors:

   – Martin Taylor – runs the biggest hedgefund in Europe, heavily invested in US private healthcare

   – Clive Hollick – one of the primary investors in US private healthcare giant

   – Trevor Chinn – heads up British-Israeli lobby group, multimillionaire, rabidly anti-workingclass

   – Gary Lubner – Paid 5 million to Starmer’s Labour, former CEO of autoglass. Directly supported apartheid regime in South Africa and currently a direct supporter of Israeli government. Shortly after he donated 5 million to the party his son was “voted” the chair of Young Labour (his son has a trust fund and property inheritance fortune incoming and his social media is pretty solely campaigning against the labour left and antisemitism.

   – Martin Clarke – former AA boss – one of the big backers of the “Change UK” party (the party who’s main political objective was to make sure nothing actually changed).

   There are a few more, all of a similar ilk; everything will be “watered down” to meaninglessness, but it’s difficult to build an alternative with the political capture of most social media spaces after the rise of Corbynism; they’re not going to let economic left wing sentiments build in the same way again.

4. And so it shouldn’t. There’s very valid use cases for zero-hours contracts. What we need is a more intense level of scrutiny over zero-hours contracts similar to other contractors (IR35).

   If we increase the HR, legal, financial, and accounting overhead of hiring these zero-hours contractors, we can eliminate the incentive for companies to abuse them purely as a means to deprive effective employees of employment related benefits they should be entitled to.

   Meanwhile, the many valid use cases of zero-hours contracts can remain in tact.

   This country has suffered so much as a result of heavy-handed regulatory copouts, and banning zero hours contracts would be exactly that.

5. Good? I was on a zhc while doing my doctorate. Let me pick up tutorials and demonstrating hours in the labs during term time without the hassle of signing multiple fixed term contracts each year

6. >But as part of its revised plans, although employers would be required to offer a contract based on regular hours worked, workers could opt to stay on zero hours.

   Doesn’t sound outrageous to me.

7. Good, the majority of people on zero hour contracts are happy with them.

8. People think banning stuff and adding more red-tape solves the problem, unfortunately the issues are much more nuanced than that.
   ‘Hey look, they banned zero hour contracts, isn’t that helping exploited people! ☺️’.. well now someone might lose their only source of income because that jobs doesn’t exist on a permanent contract. If there’s one thing this country needs it’s not more bureaucracy.

9. Why the hell would it be good to ban zero hour contracts? 

10. Of course Labour waters down anything vaguely leftwing or pro-worker. Wonder who their donors are…

11. no chance of me voting labour whilst this rat is in charge.

12. The only people who would be upset about this are the kinds of people that haven’t worked a day in their life.

13. Zero hour contracts do have their place. I was on one as a teen when I worked for a catering agency. I’d just pick up work I wanted each week. I worked as little or as often as I needed to.

    The problem is they’ve been abused for far too long for roles that do actually need full time staff.

14. You must be an idiot if you think the two parties don’t have the same bosses.

15. In fairness when I was a university student I absolutely adored being on a zero hour contract

    Universities tend to change your timetables multiple times per year, with exams also taking place. It makes it a real nightmare to work around with traditional set contracted hours

    Not sure what your new timetable will be like? Just don’t take any hours for the first week of term until you find out what it is

    Need extra time to revise? Don’t take any shifts (or reduce your shifts) around exam time to complete them

    That said not having a fixed rota each week was always annoying and I’m glad to have been rid of it for years now. The system works fine for supporting those who absolutely need the flexibility (like those still in education) though is a nightmare for anyone who has serious bills they need to pay and need to know for certain they’ll earn X amount each month

16. The private sector have been preparing for these to be banned.

    So Starmer is even managing to surprise corporations, with how much he’s bending over for them.

17. They can be useful though. I’ve done zero hour contracts when I’ve got other commitments. My stepmother was dying and had to visit sometimes, also have a hobby that occasionally brings in some income and I need time in the week to deal with it.

    Don’t get me wrong, the majority of people on zero hour contracts are being taken advantage of. If theres a way to ban that without completely banning it then I’m for it

    It has its place

18. Banning zero hour contracts would ruin me. I need the flexibility; I work zero hour and freelance contracts and it’s perfect for me.

19. “I promise you labour is not like the tories” -some redditor after labour watered down another promise