Employees on zero-hour contracts being treated ‘like the navvies in England’

Some companies using zero-hour contracts of employment are abusing workers and treating them “like the navvies in England”, it has been claimed in the Dáil.

Fianna Fáil jobs spokesman Dara Calleary said zero-hour contracts were “not completely bad if there are some companies that need them, but some companies are abusing them and treating workers like the navvies in England – wait on a corner and see whether a man comes along and picks you up”.

A zero-hour contract is where an employee is available for work but does not have specified hours.

Minister of State Ged Nash told him that “the Government will act” if a study it has commissioned on the issue “finds such work contracts have a serious and detrimental impact on citizens”.

Tendering

This week Mr Nash announced that University of Limerick had won a tendering process to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero-hour contracts in the State. Figures for Northern Ireland show about 32,000 such contracts, while there are approximately 1.4 million in Britain.

The university will have six months to complete its study, looking particularly at the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors.

Mr Nash said the key objectives of the study were to assess the impact of zero-hour and low-hour contracts on employees, allowing him to “make evidence-based policy recommendations” to Government. The study will include contracts of eight hours and less, “which are possibly more common than zero-hours contracts”.

Speaking during Dáil questions on jobs, enterprise and innovation, Mr Nash said he had asked the university to make specific recommendations relating to the three Acts in particular that govern the issue.

He stressed that “we want to ensure the jobs we are creating are decent, sustainable and pay well”, and that work paid and that it conformed to “my dignity of work and dignity at work agenda”.

In a reference to Dunnes Stores, the Minister acknowledged that “developments in the company in question are concerning”.

Mr Calleary said the company had written to all its workers “distancing itself from a Labour Court recommendation”.

The Mayo TD said the Labour Court was the foundation of Ireland’s industrial relations policy and, while its recommendations were not binding, “the notion that its recommendations can be treated with such disdain by one of the largest retail employers is wrong”.

He added it was a “sad day for Irish business” when the company had written to every one of its employees advising them of adverse consequences if they pursue proper industrial relations avenues”.