1 May 2015

Unite defeats zero hour contracts, but new examples emerge

FIRST Union is congratulating Unite Union on their win against zero hour contracts at McDonalds, says FIRST Union General Secretary Robert Reid.

“We are standing in solidarity with Unite Union on May Day”.

“But the issues of insecure work and insecure hours remain. Low contracted hours are just as common as zero hours and just as unfair and exploitative,” says Reid.

“In the retail sector workers are regularly kept on low hours. When new hours become available retail employers often opt for new workers who are then put on low hours as well”.

“FIRST Union will be entering negotiations with major retail chains this year and winning secure and predictable hours will be a major focus for our bargaining teams,” says Reid.

“Many of FIRST Union’s existing collective agreements already implicitly preclude zero hour contracts, but recent law changes mean new workers who are employed at a workplace with a collective agreement may no longer be covered under that agreement for the first 30 days”.

“The opportunity for an increase in zero hour contracts has just been created by the same government that says it will outlaw them”.

“FIRST Union is investigating reports that one major retail chain has used this new law to offer zero hour contracts at a new site where the collective agreement implicitly precludes such provisions,” says Reid.

ENDS

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