Labour staffer lifts the lid on ‘unacceptable’ working conditions in the party saying employees on ‘fictitious’ contracts are so badly paid they have to use FOOD BANKS
- Anonymous article by Labour staffer has highlighted poor working conditions
- Says some workers don’t know from week to week what hours they will work
- Staff are paid so poorly they have to turn to food banks and payday lenders
A Labour staffer has lifted the lid on hypocrisy in the party – saying many of its workers on short-term contracts are so badly paid they have to use food banks.
Employees have been forced to turn to payday lenders and are ‘working to survive’ despite the party taking a high moral stance on rights.
The damning assessment of the ‘unacceptable’ conditions came in an article written anonymously by a worker at Labour’s National Communications Centre in Newcastle.
They pointed out that Jeremy Corbyn and deputy Tom Watson are demanding the ‘highest standards’, but the reality inside the party is very different – even comparing the situation to retailer Sports Direct.
Employees were being asked to do onerous tasks and field ‘the most intolerable vicious abuse from members’, even though they often did not know from week to week how many hours they would be needed for.
They pointed out that Jeremy Corbyn and deputy Tom Watson (pictured together at Labour conference last month) are demanding the ‘highest standards’
Writing on the Labour List website, the worker said: ‘Our party staffers are the most loyal and dedicated group of individuals I have had the great pleasure to know.
‘But it may surprise you to learn that some of us are living in difficult financial circumstances.
‘I know of colleagues who have used payday lenders, I know of colleagues who have been to food banks and I know of colleagues who are now in long-term debt.
‘These are staffers who are employed as on as little as 12 hours a week and don’t know how many hours they will work next week.
‘These are colleagues who have contracts lasting as little as two months, outside of election time, and these are colleagues who have families and children to support. That isn’t working to live – that’s working to survive.’
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The staffer admitted that was the ‘reality for thousands of working families up and down the country’ – but added that it ‘should not be the reality for our own staff, the bedrock of our movement’.
‘The Labour Party now has over half a million members, united in our desire to defeat the Tories. It is the collective duty of each and every one of us to hold the party to the highest standards.
‘That is the job of Jeremy. That is the job of Tom. That is the job of the PLP and our elected representatives.’
The staffer went on: ‘We call for the end to the fictitious nature of many employment contracts within the party.
‘It is unacceptable for those on short-hours contracts to find out that they are needed with only a few hours notice to spare.’
The staffer said Labour had half a million members and should be upholding workers’ rights (pictured are delegates at party conference in Liverpool last month)
Referring to criticism of Sports Direct for ‘Victorian’ working conditions in 2016, the article went on: ‘This isn’t Sports Direct. These are our brothers and sisters, and they have families and kids to pay for.
‘Party staffers are relying on tax credits to make ends meet while fighting tirelessly for a Labour government for the many.
‘Our employment is insecure, but we believe workers should have the right to contracted hours that match the hours we regularly work.’
A Labour Party spokeswoman said: ‘Labour Party employees are paid no less than a real living wage of £10 an hour and the Party does not use zero hours contracts.’
Sources said the party was unionised with collective bargaining, and anyone in financial difficulty would be offered advice and support.
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