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USDAW leadership breaks silence

on zero-hour contracts

Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / [email protected] / Facebook: Usdaw Activist

the ActivistIssue 47Oct 2013

Bulletin of Socialist Party members in

After being silent on the hot issueof zero-hour contracts for amonth, the Autumn issue of Arenafinally carries some comment andsome proposals for tackling thisproblem by Usdaws leadership.The two articles (a news item andJohn Hannetts column) plus a

video in the online edition arewelcome in highlighting the threatthey pose to all workers. Not onlydo zero-hour contracts mean thatworkers on them are highlyinsecure both in terms of knowingwhen theyre working and howmuch they have to live off, butwhen used on a wide scale ascompanies such as McDonalds andSports Direct, they can undermine

the existence of full-time contractsand the pay and conditions thatcome with that.

Yet the comments are short onaction. All Hannett pledges in thevideo is to appeal to members tolet the union know who is on zero-hour contracts, with the promiseof doing some campaigning on thematter later, in the column he

puts it We are keen to run anevidence-based campaign on thisissue but need our members to letus know the real extent andimpact these contracts are havingin our sectors.

More accurate information aboutthe extent of zero hour contractsin retail would be useful, inparticularly clarifying the situation

regarding Boots who Usdaw havea recognition agreement with (andUsdaw President Jeff Broome is anemployee) where the media have

reported thousands of employeesare on zero-hour contracts.However, that shouldnt be asubstitute to taking a strongstance against those who arealready known to utilise suchcontracts in a widespread mannerand sending a strong message to

employers who may be tempted togo down such a route of insecurityfor their staff and particularly newhires.

As a union overwhelminglyrepresenting retail workers it isshameful that the union hasntpublicised anything on the matterto its members until now.Although John Hannett appeared

to be quoted in some newspaperarticles on the issue, nothingappeared on Usdaws website,including in the news sectionwhere press releases by the unionare often posted (only on the eveof the TUC Congress was it beenmetioned there).

Instead, the mantle of thechampions of workers forced onto

zero-hours contracts has fallenonto others. Unite who have somemembership in Sports Direct havecalled for negotiations withmanagement over theissue. Both Unite and theTUC issued press releasesfairly sharply, as did UCUand Unison amongst otherunions, all of whichappeared on their website

as a clear indication tomembers of the need tocampaign on this issue.

One of the main voicescampaigning on the ground on theissue is Youth Fight for Jobs,which organises unemployedyouth, students and youngworkers, a number of whoseactivists have been on suchcontracts. YFJ activists featured in

much of the media after the initialrevelations were made, andorganised a number of protests upand down the country to nameand shame employers, as well asleafleting the staff in suchworkplaces to let them know theirrights at work and advocatingjoining a union.

Usdaw needs to support such

actions by young people as part ofwinning the millions of retailworkers who arent members of atrade union to join us. As pointedout in the proposition on the livingwage at this years ADM, stunts,protests and rallies taking upissues affecting Usdaw membersand retail and distribution as awhole. On this and the wider issueof underemployment, a good

starting point would be for Usdawshould back the Youth Fight forJobs campaign and publicise itsactivities to all reps.

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Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW


Three in Ten ApprenticesPaid Less Than the

Minimum Wage

According to info released bythe TUC , 29% of youngapprentices are paid less thanthe minimum wage forapprentices, currently a pitiful2.68. This rises much higher insome sectors such as childcare(65%) and hairdressing (69%).

The Activist believes allworkers, including apprentices,should be paid a living wage,compan ies mere l y usedifferential ratios as exist atpresent to suck out even biggerprofits.

Swedish State Pensions

Investment Fund Ditches

Walmart

A number of the AP Funds, thevarious investment funds whichmanage contribution to theSwedish state pensions, haveannounced that they will pullout of investing in US retailgiant Walmart.

This follows the 150,000 strongSwedish retail workers union,Handels, writing an open letterto the AP Funds ethical council,highlighting Walmarts notoriousunion-busting tactics (which arealso currently being challengedby a growing movement ofWalmart workers in the US).

In the letter the called investingin Walmart so stupid it isembarrassing.

Quick NewsElmfield Training, until recentlyc o n t r a c t e d t o p r o v i d eapprenticeship training for

Morrisons, has been exposed byNewsnight as having taken moneypublic money to pay for coursesthat those doing them haddeclined to take. Its estimated thatas many of half of those on thetraining funded by a 64m grantdidnt take part in the coursesElmfield claimed to be providing.

Although Morrisons itself hasntbeen implicated in this case, last

year it was revealed that Elmfieldhad been passing on some of its41m funding for the 2012-13academic year to Morrisonsthemselves. At a rate of 60 forevery learner, Morrisons isperhaps the only company to haveits staff get additional training paidfor by the government, which theythen got paid extra for on top toboost their profits.

Traditionally, apprenticeships werefor a skilled trade, where youngpeople would struggle by on apitiful wage, but at the end of theirapprenticeship had a guaranteed,

well-paid job. Whilst Socialistswould argue for a living wage forall apprentices, only a minority of

apprenticeships which Morrisonsemployees are being trained forare in skilled areas such as bakersand butchers. The majority of staffare doing retail apprenticeshipswhich still leave them with thesame barely above minimumwage pay levels as before, despitelearning hygiene and otherproduct related skills.

All the big four supermarkets are

hugely profitable entities, so whyshould our taxes be subsidising

Morrisons and parasitic private

tuition groups when they have

more than enough money to pay

for decent staff training and a

living wage for all staff.

Moreover, if we want to guarantee

such schemes are genuinely being

invested in to develop the skills of

staff, then such schemes should

involve the participation of the

trade unions at every level.

Morrisons Apprenticeship Scandal

Former Elmfield director Ged Syddall before a parliamentary select committee

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I attended the National ShopStewards Network lobby of theTUC conference in Bournemouthon Sunday to demand a date beset for a 24-hour general strike. Iwas determined to make the TUClisten, inspired by activists andgeneral secretaries alike whoheeded the call for such a strike,delighted to hear the motion wascarried by conference later thatafternoon and angered that of thefour unions to oppose, my unionUsdaw was one of them.

Usdaw general secretary JohnHannett, whilst opposing themotion, bluntly announced that ageneral strike is not going tohappen. Naming suchconsiderations as the motiongiving the media and governmenta stick to beat us with and the factthat a general strike would beillegal. Well, the government andtheir cronies in the media are

beating us with a stick and itscertainly hurting! Meanwhile ifthose working class fighters whocame before us consideredlegality, we wouldnt have tradeunions at all. If over 6 millionpeople in Britain took strike action,joined by students, theunemployed andothers then thegovernment would

have a very hard timedeclaring it illegal anddoing somethingabout it.

Whilst in reply toJohn Hannett statingnow is not the righttime for strike action,Bob Crow quiterightly pointed out,

that he remembersthe same being saidto the miners in1984, who

subsequently werent supportedby the TUC and Bob asks, Howmany miners are left now? Thefacts of the matter are that Usdawhave not properly asked for theviews of its members in contrastto the CWU (CommunicationWorkers Union), for example, who

sent a letter on the subject toevery branch asking for theirviews of their members. If JohnHannett were to spend some timeworking on a checkout ordistribution centre like hismembers he would know thehardships they face, their

willingness to struggle and theneed for a mass fight back.

We have no alternative but tofight for a living wage, decentpensions and against all cuts. Ifwe dont then we will lose a lotmore in the future than we would

from one day of strike action. Anyworker who may think they cantafford a day on strike are alsoaware they cant afford thissituation anymore, which is set toleave this generation the first toworse off than their parents sinceWorld War Two. There cannot be

prevarication andcynicism in the tradeunion movement right

now. We needdecisiveness anddetermination todefeat thisgovernment and theideology of austerity,which is nothing morethan planned povertyfor the masses. Weneed a 24-hourgeneral strike to

begin the fight backand I say to Usdawand the TUC we needit now!

NSSN Lobby TUC: Name the Day to Strike Against Austerity


The packed pre-TUC rally organised by the NSSN

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Usdaw recently surveyed 750members on the Cost of Being aYoung Person. It revealed, as wesuspected, that government cuts

and austerity are having adisproportionate impact on youngpeople.

Over half of all respondents saidthat they have no money left afterpaying bills. Over three quarters ofthe few who dont live with theirparents, find it difficult to afford thecost of housing. Worryingly, ofthose with children, two thirdsstruggle to afford clothes andshockingly 40% find it hard to payfor nappies. Furthermore, 68% ofrespondents are educated to ALevel or above, with only 15% ofthese believing their abilities areactually utilised in work. This goesto show that after acquiring eyewateringly expensive degrees,graduates cannot find jobs tomatch them.

It is also worth noting that the 750surveyed are young workers in

unionised workplaces, meaning thelives of the masses of non-unionised workers in retail, who arepaid less and subsist on zero hour

contracts and the like, must beeven harder.

It is essential that Usdaw reachesand organises these workers, sowe can all strive for better pay.However this is done throughadopting a fighting programme witha strong leadership, but in theremarks accompanying the survey,Usdaw members are told thatUsdaw welcomes Ed Milibandscommitment to end youthunemployment and tackle zerohour contracts.

There is no mention of how this isgoing to be achieved, nor is thereany mention of fighting for a livingwage which Usdaw are committedto after a motion was passed at thisyears conference. We also need aliving wage now, as workers cannot

wait until 2015 when the cost ofliving is soaring now.

We need both an industrial struggleand a political alternative toachieve a real living wage and toachieve other measures and

victories to make the lives of youngworkers liveable. We needdecisiveness and determination todefeat this government and theideology of austerity, which isnothing more than planned povertyfor the masses. We need a 24-hourgeneral strike to begin the fightback and I say to Usdaw and theTUC we need it now.

But we also need to urgently turnour backs on a Labour party thatoffers nothing to trade unionistsand the working class but morecuts and attacks. We need to builda mass workers party with socialistpolicies to offer a real alternativeand take on the mainstream partiesbecause the cost of being a youngperson is one we cannot afford andif they cannot offer us better thenwe also cant afford them and their

system.

Letters:

Time for Action on the Living Wage

Dear Activist,

As readers of the Activist may beaware, Usdaw ADM this year passed aproposition calling for the introduction

of the living wage as a minimum wagefor all retail and distribution workersand called for the union to campaignon the issue.

So far our union seems to have doneprecious little. The wage negotiationsresults Ive seen so far this year seemto make no mention of progressingtowards the implementation of a livingwage, merely treading water withinflation meaning no real improvementin our standard of living.

Usdaw should organise stunts andrallies to publicise this issue and turn itinto one we demand that our

employers pay attention to. Ourcompanies may like to think we areexpendable, but we can make themthink again.

Dave Ingham

Sky High Rents Price Workers Out

Dear Activist,

The area in London where I live isbecoming more and more affluent.Now according to my local paper, Ham& High, there is a Waitrose opening inour area. They say this will push uphouse prices.

Good for house owners but not for thelikes for me who rent - it is anothernightmare as a low paid retail worker Iwill have to face. Rents will increase!

I will be forced to pay the extra ormove away to cheaperaccommodation whichever option I

adopt it will mean less money for me tospend.

A London member

Morrisons Have More Than OneWay To Skin a Cat

In the middle of August we werenotified of a 2% pay rise in Morrisons,great I thought, some help with payingall those rising bills. Yet less than amonth later, Morrisons have found away to get it all back from us andmore.

On the 9th September Morrisonsimplemented a 15% price increase inour canteen. Moreover they have alsocut the opening hours. Whilstemployers give with one hand, theytake staff benefits away with the other.

Thats why we need a militant unionstrategy to fight for real improvements.

A Morrisons member

The Unaffordable Cost of Being a Young Person

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The Workfare Programme is a

government scheme that wouldsee jobseekers having to work part-time or full-time hours for acompany while being paid onlytheir benefits and exempting thecompany in question from payingreal wages.

This scheme has been pushedthrough the DWP (Department forWork and Pensions) by the Tory

and Liberal Democrat coalitiongovernment in the name of workexperience, allegedly makingyoung unemployed jobseekersemployable. In reality, while youngpeople are forced to work longhours or lose their benefits, bigcompanies enjoy free labour andare not given any incentive toemploy the exploited young personon a real contract at the end of theprogramme.

Morrison's are a company that untilnow have held the WorkfareProgramme off at arms length, notwanting to be associated with thebad publicity caused by publicdemonstration and protest thatother companies that have usedthe scheme have faced. There hasbeen such outrage and organisedaction at the scheme that the list ofcompanies using it grew shorter

and shorter with every check ascompanies dropped out.

The High Court even judged theWorkfare Programme to bebreaking the law! This was avictory in court but it was a victorythat was really prepared by workon the ground, in working classcommunities by the unions and byyouth organisations such as YFJ

(Youth fight for Jobs) who debatedon national, regional and localnews channels and radio stations,

organised protests inside and

outside of participating companiesand raised awareness amongst theworking class inside and outside ofthe trade union movement over theissue, all resulting in mountingpressure on both the guiltycompanies and the government.The work undertaken by YFJ andthe trade unions made the schemeso unpopular that many named itslave-labour.

Morrison's are currently denying ontwitter that they will use theWorkfare Programme but areadmitting that they are offering '3day tasterss e s s i o n s 'which aresure to leavea bad tastei n t h emouths of

the victimsof suchs e s s i o n sand also thecont rac tedworkers.

Mor r i son ' salso denythat thescheme isr u n b y

J o b c e n t r ePlus andclaim it hasn oconnect ionwith theD W Palthough theDWP claimthat thescheme is apartnershipbetween thej o b c e n t r e

and the IGD (Institute of Grocery

Distribution). Morrisons have alsoirresponsibly claimed that anybodyrefusing to take part in this schemewill not be sanctioned but sinceparticipants are to be recruitedfrom jobcentres Morrisons have nosay over who will get sanctionedand the risk of sanctions is real.

As bad enough as it for Morrison'sto want to use free labour, the real

worry is that the so-called 3 daytaster sessions could be just thebeginning and a way for thecompany to sneak in Workfarethrough the back door.

Is Workfare Coming to Morrisons?Morrison's "3 day tasters" leave a nasty taste in the mouth

YFJ Protesting Against Tescos Use of Workfare in 2012

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