This council notes that:-
• Insecure work includes people working on zero-hours contracts, temporary and agency work, and low-paid self-employment.
• 3.5 million people could be in insecure work by start of 2022 if current trends continue - a rise of 290,000. That’s the equivalent of the entire working population of Sheffield.
• Workers on zero-hours and short-hours contracts earn a third less per hour than the average worker.
• 1 in 13 Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees are in insecure jobs, compared to 1 in 20 white employees.
• Insecure work costs the Treasury £4 billion a year in lost income tax and national insurance contributions, along with extra benefits and tax credits.
This council further notes that:-
• UK workers are still on average £38 a week worse off than before the crash in 2008 (figures to April 2017). This is the longest squeeze on pay since Victorian times.
• Public sector workers’ real wages are down thousands of pounds a year compared to 2010. For example, prison officers and paramedics are all down over £3,800 a year. Firefighters are down nearly £2,900, while teachers are down approximately £2,500.
• Just one in three people (33%) people say their employer offers regular training opportunities - and one in four workers (24%) say that no training is offered at their workplace at all apart from a new starters’ induction.
• More than a million workers suffer from ill-health related to their employment, and around 23 million working days are lost each year due to injury or illness in the workplace.
• Almost one in three workers have been bullied in the workplace.
• More than a third (37%) of Black and minority ethnic workers have been bullied, abused or singled out at work.
• More than half (52%) of women and nearly two-thirds (63%) of women aged 18-24 years old have experienced sexual harassment at work.
This council believes that:-
• Every job should be a secure and great job. That means every worker must be paid fairly; work in a safe and healthy workplace; be treated decently and with respect; have guaranteed hours; have the chance to be represented by unions and be consulted on what matters at work; have the chance to get on in life.
• Currently, too many jobs in the UK aren’t great jobs – and too many people feel that great jobs aren’t available where they live.
• It is positive that there is now a public debate about how we improve jobs in the UK – much of it driven by union campaigning and legal action against bad employers like Sports Direct, Uber and Hermes.
• The TUC have been clear that the proposals put forward by Mathew Taylor’s review of employment standards for the government are inadequate.
This council resolves to:-
• Support the TUC’s Great Jobs Agenda, which sets out the actions employers and the government must take for every job to be a great job, and tell the TUC of this support.
• Ask for a paper to be presented to cabinet setting out the actions the authority is taking to ensure that every job in this authority is a great job, and relating those to the six standards in the Great Jobs Agenda. At a minimum this should include:-
o Confirming how many council staff receive the real Living Wage.
o Reporting on how many workers are employed on zero- or short-hours contracts or agency contracts, and what actions the authority is taking to reduce this.
o Setting out how the authority proposes to use its procurement process to raise employment standards among its subcontractors.
• Write to all MPs in Rotherham and the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, informing them of our position and encouraging them to support the Great Jobs Agenda too.
• Invite a trade union representative to present the Great Jobs Agenda to a meeting of the Rotherham Together Partnership’s Business Growth Board.
• Make increasing job quality a key part of the conversation when pursuing local economic development opportunities in Rotherham.
• Continue to value meaningful workforce engagement and representation through our recognised trade unions in RMBC.
[All stats sourced at tuc.org.uk]
Mover:- Councillor Steele Seconder:- Councillor Rose Keenan
Minutes:
Proposed by Councillor Steele and seconded by Councillor Rose Keenan:-
This Council notes that:-
• Insecure work includes people working on zero-hours contracts, temporary and agency work, and low-paid self-employment.
• 3.5 million people could be in insecure work by start of 2022 if current trends continue - a rise of 290,000. That’s the equivalent of the entire working population of Sheffield.
• Workers on zero-hours and short-hours contracts earn a third less per hour than the average worker.
• 1 in 13 Black, Asian and minority ethnic employees are in insecure jobs, compared to 1 in 20 white employees.
• Insecure work costs the Treasury £4 billion a year in lost income tax and national insurance contributions, along with extra benefits and tax credits.
This Council further notes that:-
• UK workers are still on average £38 a week worse off than before the crash in 2008 (figures to April 2017). This is the longest squeeze on pay since Victorian times.
• Public sector workers’ real wages are down thousands of pounds a year compared to 2010. For example, prison officers and paramedics are all down over £3,800 a year. Firefighters are down nearly £2,900, while teachers are down approximately £2,500.
• Just one in three people (33%) people say their employer offers regular training opportunities - and one in four workers (24%) say that no training is offered at their workplace at all apart from a new starters’ induction.
• More than a million workers suffer from ill-health related to their employment, and around 23 million working days are lost each year due to injury or illness in the workplace.
• Almost one in three workers have been bullied in the workplace.
• More than a third (37%) of Black and minority ethnic workers have been bullied, abused or singled out at work.
• More than half (52%) of women and nearly two-thirds (63%) of women aged 18-24 years old have experienced sexual harassment at work.
This Council believes that:-
• Every job should be a secure and great job. That means every worker must be paid fairly; work in a safe and healthy workplace; be treated decently and with respect; have guaranteed hours; have the chance to be represented by unions and be consulted on what matters at work; have the chance to get on in life.
• Currently, too many jobs in the UK aren’t great jobs – and too many people feel that great jobs aren’t available where they live.
• It is positive that there is now a public debate about how we improve jobs in the UK – much of it driven by union campaigning and legal action against bad employers like Sports Direct, Uber and Hermes.
• The TUC have been clear that the proposals put forward by Mathew Taylor’s review of employment standards for the government are inadequate.
This Council resolves to:-
• Support the TUC’s Great Jobs Agenda, which sets out the actions employers and the government must take for every job to be a great job, and tell the TUC of this support.
• Ask for a paper to be presented to cabinet setting out the actions the authority is taking to ensure that every job in this authority is a great job, and relating those to the six standards in the Great Jobs Agenda. At a minimum this should include:-
o Confirming how many council staff receive the real Living Wage.
o Reporting on how many workers are employed on zero- or short-hours contracts or agency contracts, and what actions the authority is taking to reduce this.
o Setting out how the authority proposes to use its procurement process to raise employment standards among its subcontractors.
• Write to all MPs in Rotherham and the Mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, informing them of our position and encouraging them to support the Great Jobs Agenda too.
• Invite a trade union representative to present the Great Jobs Agenda to a meeting of the Rotherham Together Partnership’s Business Growth Board.
• Make increasing job quality a key part of the conversation when pursuing local economic development opportunities in Rotherham.
• Continue to value meaningful workforce engagement and representation through our recognised trade unions in RMBC.
On being put to the vote, the motion was carried unanimously.