The 2015 Popularity Contest (aka UK General Election )

[davek]

Indeed, but haven't Labour also committed to 'balancing the books' by 2020?

Yes, but more so for the Tories who have projected ahead to a surplus. I suppose the Tories have got it waaay wrong, as opposed to Labour getting it simply wrong...if the IMF is to be believed.

 

[peteblue]

This is the disgraceful bit. There is no reason why anyone should be paid more than say £1M per year and certainly no reason why anyone could amass £1000M.....but of course we allow footballers to earn £6-10M per year and boxers and racing drivers to earn even more........the crap about they would move away doesn't wash with me.....let them go and let someone else earn what they would have got..........

 

[Mrk]

Yes, but more so for the Tories who have projected ahead to a surplus. I suppose the Tories have got it waaay wrong, as opposed to Labour getting it simply wrong...if the IMF is to be believed.

Tories are saying they'll have a surplus by 2018, Labour are saying they'll have a surplus by 2020. Not a lot in it.

I don't believe either of them, for what its worth.

 

[The Mighty Quint]

I've done some research for you (albeit brief) and found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25098984

As I said above, I genuinely don't know if people like them or not, but I think it's ludicrous that you think something should be banned just because you think people don't like them without having any kind of empirical evidence to back it up.

Try getting a mortgage or loan from a bank and telling them you are on a zero hours contract.

Zero hours contracts were a way for employers to side step when Agency work got more regulated like they had to offer holiday pay, full time positions had to be offered after 3 months.

You can't bring up a family and plan for the future on a ZHC, it's ok if you want flexible work but many on them would prefer something secure with proper employee law covering them.

 

[daylightrobber]

Meanwhile.............. Unicef report that child poverty is increasing in this country, due mainly to current austerity measures. The government you'll be surprised to read are in denial about the fact.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...s-austerity-measures-unicef-says-9823049.html

 

[daylightrobber]

Try getting a mortgage or loan from a bank and telling them you are on a zero hours contract.

Zero hours contracts were a way for employers to side step when Agency work got more regulated like they had to offer holiday pay, full time positions had to be offered after 3 months.

You can't bring up a family and plan for the future on a ZHC, it's ok if you want flexible work but many on them would prefer something secure with proper employee law covering them.

The other thing that should be noted is that the employment figures are distorted by ZHC. Not sure how you can be classed as being in work I'd you're not guaranteed work.

 

[Mrk]

Try getting a mortgage or loan from a bank and telling them you are on a zero hours contract.

Zero hours contracts were a way for employers to side step when Agency work got more regulated like they had to offer holiday pay, full time positions had to be offered after 3 months.

You can't bring up a family and plan for the future on a ZHC, it's ok if you want flexible work but many on them would prefer something secure with proper employee law covering them.

I don't doubt for a second that zero hour contracts are far from ideal for some of the people who are on them - just like part time work is far from ideal for some people. Doesn't mean they should be banned, though.

 

[rascal]

The other thing that should be noted is that the employment figures are distorted by ZHC. Not sure how you can be classed as being in work I'd you're not guaranteed work.

That has long been a bugbear of mine, it's been used by the past two governments to keep employment figures low (false in reality)

 

[The Mighty Quint]

I don't doubt for a second that zero hour contracts are far from ideal for some of the people who are on them - just like part time work is far from ideal for some people. Doesn't mean they should be banned, though.

Sports Direct, stores in every Town and City across the land, 15,000 staff on ZHC, Why?, because full-time and part-time empoyee's have a lot more rights that ZHC workers have.

It's wrong, and Ashley aint the only large employer doing it.

 

[Mrk]

Sports Direct, stores in every Town and City across the land, 15,000 staff on ZHC, Why?, because full-time and part-time empoyee's have a lot more rights that ZHC workers have.

It's wrong, and Ashley aint the only large employer doing it.

But again, that is no reason for them to be banned.

You could conceivably make the case that all employment is exploitative in one way or another - doesn't mean we should ban people from having jobs.

 

[glorydaze]

The main benefit of ZHC for employers is you can be finished without compensation at any time regardless how long you have been with them.

 

[The Cowboy]

Great use of actual numbers and sources...

And context. And allowing for inflation. And (as already discussed on this thread) that debt is cheap and serviceable. But other than that, yeah.

 

[peteblue]

Look lads and lasses, it's just an election. The same bunch of self serving @rseholes will get in whoever you vote for, they are all as bad as each other and only in it for themselves. Don't fall out over this, that is what they want............

 

[The Cowboy]

I agree with you in this one. While I admire the fact that Labour are trying to do something about it, it doesn't seem as though their plans will do much about it. Like you suggested, companies could easily get around the 12 week rule. In which instance, Labour are not actually 'banning' zero hours contracts as they suggest, because they could still exist for a period of 12 weeks. Hopefully there will be a solution to this problem in the future.

Edit: just to pick up on your last point though, I don't think they are showing themselves up to be as bad as the Tories on this issue, who haven't even mentioned it as a problem. On the contrary, the Tories use the boost in employment figures which zero hour contracts have brought about in order to gloat about their employment figures.

Whilst I accept that all figures can be massaged to make them sound good, surely more people in employment, regardless of the contractual conditions, is a good thing? For the sake of people's self worth and future prospects, I'd rather see 2 people getting 15 hours a week on a ZHC than one person on a full time contract.

 

[chewee]

Do not like the slow shift in this weeks polls. The UKIP vote is on the slide and in key marginals it's putting the tories back infront.

Can see the tories having most seats and claiming plurality but even with Lib Dem support well short of 326 and Labour/SNP combined being much closer but still short. This really is so tight, it's on a knife edge.

I wonder if Cameron regrets not being in tomorrows debate now? It has the potential to be a big moment in the election campaign