Councils and schools ‘exploiting’ part-time workers, says Unison

13 Jun 14
Part-time workers in local government and schools are being ‘exploited’ by being made to work unpaid overtime to plug service gaps caused by job cuts, Unison has claimed.

By Richard Johnstone | 16 June 2014

Part-time workers in local government and schools are being ‘exploited’ by being made to work unpaid overtime to plug service gaps caused by job cuts, Unison has claimed.

A survey by the trade union found more than 2,600 part-time workers – who make up around 60% of all employees in local government and schools – found unpaid overtime had become commonplace for more than half.

More than one-third (39%) of respondents said they work up to two hours of unpaid overtime each week, with 12.5% working between three and four hours, and almost 10% working five to ten additional hours for no pay.

One-fifth of respondents confirmed they are covering the work of a redundant or vacant post as well as their own, and the poll also found a fall in the numbers of staff working full-time hours. 

Unison’s head of local government Heather Wakefield said the unpaid overtime was the result of cuts to council funding made since the coalition government came to power.

More than half a million jobs have been lost from local government since 2010, she added.

‘Part-time workers are the lifeblood of local government and schools and local services would collapse without them. Yet they are facing an all-out assault on their pay, conditions and hours of work.

‘They are routinely used to fill full-time gaps in the workforce left by redundancies, but often with no security of contract, hours or income, and no overtime pay.’

 

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