'I would challenge any politician or business leader to try and survive on a zero-hours contract', writes Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. Everyone who works for a living deserves to earn a decent living. But the last 14 years have been terrible for family incomesPay packets are still worth less - in real terms - than in 2008 as households live through the worst period for living standards in modern history.
Not knowing how they’ll plan their childcare.But that is the reality facing many workers in Britain today.In social care alone over a fifth of the workforce are on zero-hours contracts. Is it any surprise that we have a staffing crisis in this sector?Things can’t carry on like this. We need a government that will make work pay and ensure that everybody is treated with dignity at work.That’s why Labour’s New Deal for Working People is so important.