To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors Hill, Pandor, Sokhal, Kendrick, Mather, McBride, Walker, Pattison, P Davies, Ahmed, S Hall, Y Hussain, Warner, O’Donovan, Simpson, Lowe, Loonat, Asif, Dad, A U Pinnock, Murgatroyd, G Turner, Khan, Butt, Griffiths, Uppal, Kane, Ullah, Zaman and Akhtar;
“This Council notes;
- the content and recommendations of the “Forgotten Workers” report, carried out jointly between Durham and Bradford universities, and notes that it is an independent piece of work, carried out with due academic rigour and appropriate research methods
- that this report is the first of its kind into the issues of low pay and multiple employment in this region. The scale and nature of the issues it highlights should be cause for concern for all of us here in Kirklees
- that for the first time in history, the majority of people classed as living in poverty are also in work (55%). Most children in poverty now come from households where at least one adult is in work. The narrative put forward in recent decades by governments of all parties - that work is the best route out of poverty - is clearly now not the case. The social contract of “getting on if you work hard” has demonstrably failed
- with alarm, the kind of stories the report has unearthed, and the implications for the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable residents and their families. The researchers found workers with 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and even 7 different jobs who are all struggling to make ends meet due to low-pay and limited working hours. They were typically employed in cleaning, catering, the care sector, security, social services, education, retail, public services, administration and IT services. These workers are employed on a combination of full-time, part-time, agency, temporary, seasonal, casual and zero hours contracts. They all reported high levels of stress and exhaustion, and deteriorating relationships with family and friends
- that people who do legitimately work in more than one low-paid job are largely absent from academic and policy coverage. We note our responsibility not only as a local authority with responsibility for nearly half a million people, but also as one of the largest employers and commissioners in the area
This Council has a duty to consider the practical recommendations of the Forgotten Workers report as an employer, to ensure as far as possible that our suppliers and commissioned services do so too. We also have a duty as a politically led organisation to represent our constituents who are in this situation, and to apply pressure where we can to move the issues which affect this group to the top of the local and national policy agenda.
This Council therefore:
- reiterates its commitment to paying all our employees the Affordable Living Wage, and where we commission and outsource work, to encourage the same commitment from those employers.
- offers all Kirklees employees a guarantee of dignity and fair treatment at work, regardless of position, length of service, or wage.
- asks Cabinet to investigate the possibility of carrying out information gathering across the Kirklees area to find out how many people are currently in multiple employment.
- asks Cabinet to commission work to report on potential actions which would ameliorate the immediate impacts of multiple employment, e.g. poor mental health and diet.”
Decision:
Motion approved subject to the addition of;
- asks the Leader to identify the Cabinet Member responsible, and that the Cabinet Member reports back to Council on the information gathered and the work commissioned (and the combined findings of both) no later than the scheduled December Council Meeting.