Camden Council ‘unable to translate words into deeds’ over zero-hours contracts

Camden Council has launched a campaign to outlaw “zero-hours” employment contracts after receiving flak in recent weeks over the use of them.

The council has launched a petition calling for an end to the controversial contracts, which offer no guaranteed working hours from week to week to people employed under them.

The petition says: “We the undersigned call for the government to immediately outlaw the use of zero-hour contracts within the care industry and launch an urgent formal inquiry into aspects of employment law to stamp out this archaic practice by all employers.”

The move comes after union activists criticised the council for using private firms that employ staff on a zero-hours basis to provide services such as home care for dementia sufferers.

Public sector union Unison staged a protest outside Camden Town Hall in mid-August over the issue.

George Binette, Camden Unison branch secretary, described the petition as “a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction”.

But he added: “The ongoing reality of zero-hour contracts in home care (which is now entirely outsourced) and leisure provision suggests that the council is either unwilling or unable to translate words into deeds.”

The petition is at www.wearecamden.org/zerohours.