Two million UK workers are trapped in a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm, according to the findings of the TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment, published today.
The Commission, set up by the TUC and involving employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, says Government, unions, employers and consumers must now all play a part in ending exploitation at work.
Commissioners say that they were shocked both by the extent of vulnerable work and that much of the poor treatment they found was perfectly legal. The report says that employment practices attacked as exploitative in the 19th century are still common today and that the poor treatment at work that we have found should not be tolerated.
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Commissioner and SERCO Chairman Kevin Beeston said: "During my time on the Commission, meeting vulnerable workers and hearing the evidence first-hand for myself, I have become increasingly surprised by my own and society's ignorance of these issues.
"It's disappointing to see how low the morals of some unscrupulous employers can be, and it's time society stopped turning a blind eye to these workplace abuses that are shaming the world of work and tarnishing the reputations of good employers."
TUC General Secretary and Chair of the Commission Brendan Barber said: "All the Commissioners - whatever their backgrounds - were shocked at just how vulnerable some workers are in today's Britain. Their treatment is a national scandal, and we need urgent action.
"But we have to cut thought the sterile debate that has turned any proposal to help even the most exploited people at work into a pro-union, anti-business old Labour move. Good employers have nothing to fear - and much to gain - from policies that stop them being undercut by bad employers who break the law or use loopholes to get round it."
Recommendations made by the Commission's report are available free on-line at the website.
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