According to new figures, the number of workers on zero-hour contracts working for Glasgow City Council has risen significantly in the last year.
The figures show that the Council employ 1,689 people on zero-hour contracts with no guarantee of regular work, up from 1,436 in the previous year. The vast majority of those working on zero-hour contracts work as supply teachers, exam invigilators and classroom assistants, with many of the councils at-arms-length companies hiring on zero-hour contracts exclusively.
Labour Councillor Matt Kerr confirmed when releasing the figures that the contracts mean the council "has no contractual obligation to provide work".
Unlike some zero hour contracts, however, the staff are entitled to certain benefits such as sick pay and holiday entitlement.
Ban Zero Hour Contracts
The news comes amid pledges from all sides of the political landscape to eradicate or reform zero-hour contracts.
Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary for the government, has stated that reforming rather than scrapping zero-hour contracts is the best course of action to take.
The MP stated that the idea of “zero-hour” contracts was only creating fear and adding scare stories about the subject. He accused the Opposition and the mainstream media of using such an issue as a way to attack the government.
In an interview with Sky News he said: “I think, with respect, the media and others have got this completely wrong, the flexible hours contracts I’m talking about which are named ‘zero-hours contracts’, they are taken by people who want that flexibility.
Labour Leader Ed Miliband and others have vowed to ban such contracts from the UK.
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