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Zero hour contracts; why does the Government want to put them in law?

Today is the last day for oral submissions on the Employment Standards Bill. This Bill puts zero hour contracts into law for the first time.

Working people have been very clear in their oral and written submissions that zero hour contracts are unfair and unreasonable. We urge the committee to not put zero hour contracts in law.

“Everywhere I go people are telling me how terrible zero hour contracts are and how unfair and unreasonable they are,” CTU President Richard Wagstaff said.

“People need to know that they can afford to pay the power bill, cover the rent and put food on the table. It is a mean spirited attack on working people for the Government to promise to address zero hour contracts and then do the exact opposite; by putting them in law, where they never have been before.”

“Knowing how many hours you’ll be paid from week to week is just about respecting working people and the vital contribution we all make,” Wagstaff said.

ENDS