John Harris: The slow death of the Real Job is pulling society apart
In proposing that temporary and agency workers should benefit from the same pay and basic conditions as their fully accredited counterparts, [MP Paul] Farrelly’s [temporary and agency workers (prevention of less favourable treatment)] bill drills into an issue that barely intrudes on the political mainstream: the casualisation of thousands of workplaces, and the alleged slow death of the Real Job. Around 1.4 million people currently work in the temporary and agency sector, millions more feel its downward pull on their working lives - and at its current rate of growth, millions more soon will do. Unfortunately, the involvement of the trade unions serves to confirm that the issue lies as far from middle England as can be, and you thus arrive at yet another illustration of how contorted Westminster politics has become: the political class blithely yakking about “rising aspirations”, while millions of people’s hopes are plummeting at speed.
Posted on October 19th, 2007 at 9:46 am
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Filed under Chicken Nuggets, Evil of banality, UK politics |
I read it. It’s drivel. I’ve been a temporary worker since 1992 and I make a good living at it. Buying/Selling labour is the same as any commodity. You pay market prices determined by supply, demand and quality. Thats as it should be. I don’t get holiday pay or sick pay. So what, why should a business pay me when I don’t turn up for work. The state should butt out, they have nothing useful to offer and have no competency at….well…..anything, except perhaps taking a slice off us hard working types for every productive day we do.
The author writes
Downward Pull!!!! Typical leftie guardian types. As I said, I’ve been a temporary worker since 1992. I do it because I choose to because I make more money than in what he calls a “Real Job”.
Having just read your profile on your blog, and I admit to not knowing anything else about you, Mark, but I think what you do is probably called in other industries, ‘Freelance’ or ‘Self-employed’. If you were employed through an agency you would be entitled to paid holidays (and I think sick pay)
That’s a little different to being a temporary worker.
So what, why should a business pay me when I don’t turn up for work.
Because it’s civilised, that’s why. Because when you employ people, you employ people, not machines, and people sometimes get sick. And because “fuck you” is a really unpleasant value and we should not adopt economic models that pander to or promote that sort of attitude to our fellow human beings.
What tosh.
Well put sir. And convincingly, may I add.
I thought so!