[IER] Let's not talk about "flexibility" when workers put in 2.1 billion hours unpaid

[Sarah Glenister]

IER News Brief 24/02/17

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news brief

Friday 24th February 2017

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UK workers put in 2.1 billion hours for completely free last year, saving their employers a total of £33.6 billion.

These are the latest statistics from the TUC <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=e29b140536&e=71131c031b> , which today marks Work Your Proper Hours Day, on which workers are called upon to take their full lunch breaks and leave on time.

These figures put into context the fallback rhetoric of the Tory camp that Britain needs a "flexible" workforce, particularly in light of where that "flexibility" leads for the average worker. The TUC reports that the typical person working unpaid overtime loses out on £6,301 a year, at a time when real wages have stagnated and are expected to remain that way for years to come.

For some, "flexibility" means "gig" work, which has been in the news again this week as the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy continues its inquiry into The Future World of Work and Workers' Rights. On Wednesday, Managing Director of Deliveroo Dan Warne faced questions from MPs regarding a clause in the contracts his company offers couriers, instructing workers they may not question their "self-employed" status at tribunal. Warnes agreed to remove the clause <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=37323a60d7&e=71131c031b> , arguing that it was never enforceable anyway - a poor excuse for the many workers who may have been discouraged from contesting their employment status.

And while we can expect to see many more tribunals on the misclassification of workers as "self employed" this year, for some workers access to justice may be about to get even more difficult. The government has announced that it will allow some cases to be decided purely online <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=34b7d4d5d6&e=71131c031b> , based on written evidence, without any hearing - a proposal criticised as risky by unions, which pointed out there is much room for miscommunication when no two-way dialogue is permitted.

And finally, the debate around Brexit and labour rights continues, with Unison joining Unite in its call for better collective bargaining for migrant labour <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=9beffd5769&e=71131c031b> . Len McCluskey last year called for migrant workers to be covered by unions <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=2ec8bff06d&e=71131c031b>  to prevent the undercutting of wages by employers seeking to hire un-unionised staff. And now Unison has provided evidence to show how collective bargaining arrangements have prevented employers from exploiting migrant labour to evade fair pay and conditions across the EU. Unison also points out that the biggest problems for workers across the EU have not been born of migration, but rather of austerity and privatisation.

The Institute of Employment Rights will discuss this at our forthcoming Migration for Brexit event on March 15 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=951e9c0dca&e=71131c031b> , at which eight leading academics, campaigners and trade unionists will ask how we can create protective and egalitarian labour standards to provide for all workers.

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	UNISON: Collective bargaining prevents employer undercutting wages with migrant labour
Public sector union UNISON has called for increased collective bargaining coverage to prevent employers from undercutting wages through the exploitation of migrant labour, providing evidence that austerity and privatisation are a bigger problem for workers than immigration.
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Following a consultation regarding reform to the Employment Tribunal process, which closed in January, the government has responded to confirm that some cases will be decided online.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=be64e9f943&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


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	Govt shelves British Bill of Rights (again)
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 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=1d5b6db093&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 Workers' Rights <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/b1c726de-bf3c-454c-9dd0-50d42672c9ff.png> 

	Britons 'worked 2.1bn hours for free last year'
UK workers put in 2.1 billion hours for free in 2016, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed, urging Britons to take their full lunch breaks and go home on time.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=c5c23cd6b0&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 Access to Justice <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/3217d00c-d174-45e5-a9cf-a588a59f2af4.jpg> 

	Deliveroo agrees to drop anti-tribunal clause
Deliveroo has told a government Select Committee that it will drop a clause in the contracts it offers its so-called "self-employed" delivery workers, which aims to dissuade them from enforcing their rights at tribunal.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=ad0b40271a&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story


 Migrant workers <https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3/images/33c40d4d-d172-4d33-aa39-06499167067b.png> 

	How do we protect migrant workers in a post-EU UK?
Yet more unclear news today on the future for migrant workers in the UK, as Brexit Secretary David Davis said the door will not "suddenly shut" after Britain leaves the EU, but that immigration controls will increase.
 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=79280a4d2f&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

 




	

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Edited by Rebecca Tuck
This year’s Labour Law Highlights is produced against the backdrop of a Brexit vote in the UK and a Trump victory in the USA. It promises to be a bumpy ride ahead!
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The world of work is changing. Fast. But the framework of law tasked with protecting the health, safety and well being of workers is now 50 years old and – according to the authors of this report – no longer fit for purpose. The authors put forth proposals for reform
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	Migration after Brexit: the challenge for labour standards 2017: London
15 March 2017 - 09:30 - 15:15
Unite the Union, London
This conference will cover migration policy after Brexit, both from the EU and from elsewhere in the world, and the implications of future labour migration patterns for labour standards. The speakers will bring extensive expertise to the subject, as academics, campaigners and trade unionists.
Speakers include Bernard Ryan, Don Flynn, Susan Cueva, Diana Holland, Alex Balch, Alan Bogg, Owen Espley and Sonia McKay
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	A future for Post Industrial communities?
23-24 March 2017: Leeds
While de-industrialisation began before the Thatcher governments of the 1980s, it has continued to accelerate, and today the process is felt hardest in previously industrialised towns. There is strong evidence to suggest that these old industrial towns and cities that lost out most from the far-reaching economic change over the last 40 years as being one of the key driving forces behind the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
Hope not Hate has co-organised this conference with the hope of creating strategies for intervention that support communities to overcome 'narratives of division' and turn to 'narratives of hope'.
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