Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd came under fire after encouraging struggling families to take unstable work after she suggested that people should take a zero-hour contract to circumvent getting a benefit sanction.
Even though she acknowledged she had concerns about some aspects of the benefits system, and she said she’s ready to slow down the rollout of Universal Credit again to make sure it’s effective, she stood by the policy as an MP warned people would be sanctioned under Universal Credit if they don’t take a zero-hour job.
And when the MP was seriously saying people should take zero-contracts she said yes because if people are offered work, they should take it, and then when asked again if people should take work even if it’s unstable she said yes.
The MP told the Commons Work and Pensions Committee that the purpose of taking employment is not only about having money coming in, it was also about having confidence of being able to improve people’s own status and being able to have the security of having work coming in, and being able to make sure that you can then get to a higher level, although I’m not sure how people will do that on a zero contract because it has no security, which doesn’t give people confidence at all.
And if the job doesn’t actually give you any hours, the complexity of the system makes it especially difficult to convey what you do, and it’s repulsive that Amber Rudd believes it’s acceptable to sanction people if they refuse to take a zero hour contract job.
Sanctions are driving poverty, driving people to food banks and they fall massively on the most defenceless people, and the government should be ending these disciplinary sanction regimes, outlawing zero hour contracts and reconstruct our social security system so that it helps people instead of punishing them.
Job security and zero hour contracts should not be used in the same sentence because it doesn’t benefit the worker, only the employer, and Universal Credit is one sick joke as people are going without money for months on end, when they have worked all their lives and yet get beaten by the government while they’re down.
It’s about time Tory government went onto zero hour contracts, let’s face it, some of them don’t even turn up and when they do, all they do is fall asleep and still get compensated for it, yet they have the temerity to tell us that we should take zero contract jobs.
If a commoner never turned up for work or fell asleep on the job they’d probably get the sack and certainly wouldn’t get paid, yet some of these freeloaders still get compensated for sitting on their arse and falling asleep, yet again, one rule for them and another rule for the working class.
Amber Rudd’s own work history should be scrutinised, particularly with regards to her tax evasion scams and shell companies that swiftly go bankrupt, and her arrogance is as unbelievable as her ineptitude, and despite how many times she makes a mess of things in government she perpetually seems to get another chance, whereas in the real world no one would actually employ her.
Zero hour contracts are for the interest of the employer and nobody really advances on to permanent work no matter how hard they work, and the government should drape their heads in shame, but then, of course, they won’t because they’ll be too busy checking their profit margins and offshore accounts.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 