‘No place for zero hours contacts’

Ashfield District Councillors have put forward several motions to combat blacklisting and zero-hour contracts in the workplace.

The council has resolved to investigate the use of zero hours contracts for directly engaged or sub-contracted council workers and give a commitment to no blacklisting.

Coun Kier Morrison, member for Hucknall East, said: “This council believes public employers should take steps to eliminate the use of zero hours contracts for their own employees and through procurement.

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“This latest form of insecure employment leaves workers virtually no notice for compulsory shifts and no guaranteed income, which leads to difficulty in accessing credit, problems in renting and buying a home and high levels of anxiety.

“The council believes there should be no place for insecure contracts in the UK economy.”

The Labour Group councillor also proposed a motion whereby companies which use blacklists should not benefit from public sector contracts.

Blacklisting occurs when employers deny work to people for either political reasons, due to political affiliation or a history of trade union activity.

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Said Coun Morrison: “This council notes and welcomes campaigning by trade unions to end the practice of blacklisting, which has been shown to cause physical and mental deterioration, including premature death.”

Speaking after the meeting, Coun Lachlan Morrison, member for Hucknall Central, said council scrutiny officers would now take measures to ensure no companies the district council contracted used blacklists.

He also said the council would be conducting a review to ensure that no companies which used zero hours contracts were awarded work by the council.

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