News

The need for care workers to organise internationally is more apparent than ever as recent figures released by the government in the UK show that the incidence of the use of zero hour contracts is more than double its previous pronouncement.

'After a campaign of political pressure by political parties, unions and other employment relations specialists, the government undertook to instruct the Office of National Statistics to revise the criteria used for counting the number of these contracts in operation.  The contracts allow employers to hire staff without any obligation to guarantee a minimum or set number of working hours and are widely used in the social care sector.'reported the Planet Labour website. This 'rising tide of insecurity in the job market was allowing employers to turn a ‘once marginal and niche element of the labour market’ into the norm.' the site reports. Workers on zero hours contrats may be denied work at any time and for any reason. 

The Workplace Employment Relations Survey conducted by the government of the UK in 2004 and 2011 shows that the proportion of workplaces that have some employees on zero-hours contracts has increased from 4% in 2004 to 8% in 2011. The survey found that larger companies are more likely to use zero-hours contracts. 23% of workplaces that have 100 or more employees used zero-hours contracts in 2011, compared to 11% of those with 50-99 employees and 6% of those with fewer than 50 employees.

It is predicted that as governments cut budgets for the care sector, and as the need for care expands quickly across the world, approaches such as zero hours contracts may become common. Over time the risks associated with making profit in a privatized care sector are progressively being shouldered by the workforce. For these reasons it is incumbent upon care workers and unions to build power in this growing area of work, and coordinate to ensure decent jobs for workers and good care for our communities.