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North East has UK's fastest growth in insecure work, says TUC

A new study published by the TUC today has found that two out of three (67%) jobs created in the North East since 2011 have been in insecure work.

Whilst North East employment rose by 60,000 between 2011 and 2016 the analysis argues that 40,000 of these jobs were insecure, ie work without guaranteed hours or baseline employment rights.

The TUC estimates that 124,000 people now work in insecure jobs in the region, up from 84,000 in 2011, which equates to 1 in 9 workers.

The TUC says this is being driven mainly by traditional industries – such as education, restaurant work and residential social care – rather than newer tech sectors.

The study, commissioned by the TUC from the Learning and Work Institute, defines insecure work as seasonal, casual, temporary or agency work, those on zero-hours contracts and low-paid self-employed workers.

Beth Farhat, TUC Regional Secretary, said: “Insecure working in the North East has shot up in recent years.

“People need jobs they can live on. But if you don’t how much work you will have from one day to the next, making ends meet can be nightmare.

“Too many bosses in our region are getting away with shady employment practices. That’s why we are asking people who feel vulnerable at work to share their stories confidentially with us.

“We need to keep the pressure up on government to improve protections for working people. Every day unions expose bad working conditions and win important victories for workers across the country.”

The TUC is today launching a new initiative for workers in the North East to share their experiences of insecure work anonymously. The findings of the survey will be presented in May.

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