Two million UK workers are trapped in low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm, a TUC commission report claimed this week.

Exploitative 19th century employment practices are common and many of the commissioners – drawn from employers, unions and independent experts – were shocked by the extent of vulnerable work and that so much of the poor treatment was legal.

The report said Northern Ireland had the highest proportion of vulnerable workers at 11.9% followed by the west midlands (10.2%) and north-west England (9.1%).

Commissioner Belinda Earl, chief executive, Jaeger, said: ‘One worker that I spoke to told me he had worked 70 hours a week in a fast food takeaway for three years without any paid holiday – and he was not even being paid the minimum wage.

‘I also met with migrant domestic workers, who were being underpaid and exploited – and who faced physical and sexual violence from their employers.’

The commission found vulnerable workers were suffering through a lack of knowledge about their rights, difficulty when they tried to enforce their rights, and gaps in employment law.

OECD research showed that the UK had less employment protection than any other advanced economy apart from the USA, it said.

Commissioner Kevin Beeston, chair of support services group Serco, said: ‘It’s disappointing to see how low the morals of some unscrupulous employers can be, and it’s time society stopped turning a blind eye to these workplace abuses that are shaming the world of work and tarnishing the reputations of good employers.’

TUC general secretary and chair of the commission, Brendan Barber, said the treatment of vulnerable workers was a national scandal.

‘We have to cut thought the sterile debate that has turned any proposal to help even the most exploited people at work into a pro-union, anti-business old Labour move.’

The commission wants to see better funding for employment rights advice and for enforcement agencies such as the Health and Safety Executive and the minimum wage enforcement unit.

Its recommendations also include changes to immigration law to reduce the vulnerability of migrant workers, a new Fair Employment Commission and for the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority regime to apply to other sectors such as care homes and construction.

The TUC’s commission on vulnerable employment, www.vulnerableworkers.org.uk

by Ian Alexander
news@newstartmag.co.uk