Zero-hours Contracts

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Lisa Nandy

Wednesday 16th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Lisa Nandy]

I will not, I am afraid, because many of my hon. Friends have sat through this debate and are desperate to speak.

As many hon. Members have said, this problem affects entire sectors. We should be very concerned about that because, as I have said, such contracts are not a stepping-stone. I am particularly worried about the care sector and home help. This problem affects the low-paid people—mainly women—who work in that sector. It affects their children, their parents and their whole family. It also affects us, because if we value that profession so little that we allow this practice to be used across the country, we allow people to be given no money for travel time between appointments and we allow packed rotas that mean that older people get 15 minutes to have all their care needs met, what does that mean for our parents, our grandparents and our neighbours? I hope that the Minister will listen to the voices of people around this country who are devastated by what they are seeing.

Finally, the Secretary of State spoke a lot about getting redress and taking on employers, and about a code of conduct. In truth, however, it is incredibly difficult for someone who is being threatened with no more work to take action. Have we learned nothing from the blacklisting scandals that my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray) has done so much to uncover and condemn? Ministers say that we want to give people the ability to take action on that issue, so why are they restricting access to legal advice and hiking up employment tribunal fees?

It strikes me that the Government are frightened of challenge, and they are standing together with their friends in the business community to stop people who have everything to lose being able to take action. Whatever the Government do, the Minister must understand that rights are no good without the means to enforce them, and we need concrete action to ensure they can be enforced.