Victorian work practices return to UK as 3.7m Britons in insecure work

Victorian age inequality is making a comeback to the UK as average wages remain low and 3.7m Britons are stuck in some form of insecure work.

UK workers face hardship as the last decade brought more insecurity, less pay and a harsher world of work overall as working people don’t have enough of a say in the conditions that shape their working lives, said the TUC in their latest report.

Workers are also being affected by the steady erosion of collective bargaining rights over the past few years that help them join together to negotiate with employers.

The TUC said anti-trade union laws and industrial change had resulted in union membership and collective bargaining coverage falling – from 54% and over 70% in 1979 to just 23% and 26% respectively in 2018.

According to the report, government figures showed that just 35% of UK employees said that managers were good at allowing them to influence decisions, while less than half thought managers were good at responding to suggestions from the workforce.

Employers are currently able to pick and choose workers on a daily basis and cancel their shifts with no notice. This makes work unpredictable and insecure with very little pay to compensate.

Many have now been forced to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

This situation only aggravates the inequality problem in the UK with a gap between average wages and house prices widening, breaking the link between work and home ownership.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC’s general secretary, said that without a shift in the balance of power from employers to unions the UK would face rising inequality and insecurity at work.

O’Grady said: “We’re at risk of going back to 19th-century working conditions. Millions of workers have no control and no voice at work, with increasing numbers stuck on low pay, zero-hours contracts, and in sham self-employment.

“We urgently need to reset the balance of power in our economy and give people more of a say about what happens to them at work. We know that collective bargaining is the best way to raise wages and improve conditions – so let’s expand it across the whole workforce.”