Casual worker protocol

A new protocol has been agreed by unions and North Ayrshire council, in order to improve the rights of casual workers across the local authority’s operations.

The protocol, signed by Unison, GMB, Unite, UCATT and the LNCT Scottish teachers unions’ co-ordinating committee, will provide Living Wage rates and basic statutory entitlements matching colleagues directly employed by the council, along with clearly defined contracts of employment.

According to Unite, the agreement is a “positive step forward” in tackling precarious employment practices. Unite regional officer Andy MacFarlane said that trade unions had been “quite clear that the Scottish government can and should reform our procurement rules to ban practices like zero-hour contracts from companies tendering for public contracts”. Unions needed to “be innovative” in their efforts to improve workers’ rights in local government in the “absence of meaningful intervention” from government to address the inequalities in the public sector.

www.unitetheunion.org/news/north-ayrshire-casual-worker-protocol-a-step-forward-in-fight-for-fairer-employment

www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/news/Councilreaffirmcommitmenttocasualworkers.aspx