Council pass motion regarding agency work and zero hours contracts

Councillor Richard Farnell

Councillors have passed a motion with regards to agency work and zero hours contracts seeking to ensure that the workers of the borough are no longer exploited.

Speaking on the issue of agency work and zero hours contracts at the Council meeting on Wednesday (21 January), the leader of Rochdale Council, Councillor Councillor Farnell agreed that this can be flexible for some people, but said: “I was astounded to find out that over half of the jobs advertised by the job centre are either agency or zero hours contract work. This has a real impact on the people in this borough and causes them real problems when they can’t pay their rent or meet their bills.

“As a council we are doing something about this. Recently we met with JD Sports and at one point their recruitment was 80% agency work and now we have worked with them so that it is now 80% employed people.”

Councillor Neil Emmott seconded the motion and added: “The council must help people who are stuck with agency work or a zero hour’s contract. Today people are earning less than they did five years ago. There is no flexibility with this work and this type of work creates bad employers and that is something we should not support.”

In the motion, the Council is requested to resolve:

1. To request the Leader of the Council to write to the EU Commissioner for Employment, Marianne Thyssen to ask her to repeal the EU loophole covering agency workers, so that residents do not lose their entitlement to equal pay.

2. To request the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable to ask him to regulate End User Employer and agency contracts, so that employees can have a minimum of weekly notice for employment and to investigate the way welfare benefits are being paid to top up poor pay.

3. To request the Leader of the Council to also write to the Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, to ask him to ensure jobs posted on the Universal Jobmatch are quality checked to avoid people being pressurised into taking agency and zero hours contract work.

Councillor Jane Gartside said: “Rochdale needs to be known as a place of employment rather than a place of no employment.”

Councillor Farnell added: “The government needs to stop bad employment and exploiting the people of this borough.”