After weeks of campaigning with staff, students and the general public, UNISON at the University of Manchester has won the campaign to put an end to the use of zero hour contracts within University of Manchester Catering Ltd, the University’s private catering company.
Workers on zero hours contracts face uncertainty about their income and working pattern. This makes it hard to plan finances and time – putting a great strain on employees and their households. However, according to a UNISON and NUS freedom of information request made in 2013 the university spent £13,533,478 on agency staff – the equivalent of £1,442 per employee – instead of using the money to provide job security for hard working staff and their families. This is one of the highest spends on agency staff by a university in the UK.
Kevin Gaskell-Clow, a chef at the university and a UNISON steward said: “The catering staff at the university came to UNISON because they were unable to obtain mortgages or secure rental agreements, and they were struggling to budget for the next week’s shopping. All this was because of the uncertainty around their working hours under zero hours contracts.
“Now they have greater security of income and work regular hours each week.”
The university’s announcement did not come with news on a living wage for all staff.
UNISON is continuing the campaign for fair pay for all staff including an improvement on the offer of a 1% pay rise and a living wage and has announced a further day of strike action to take place on 6 February as part of the ongoing dispute with employers over pay.
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