Hackney Council has been confronted over its use of casual contracts in the borough’s libraries, which critics stress is at odds with the Town Hall’s opposition to zero-hours contracts. On Monday, Unison members grilled the local authority on the ongoing impact of multiple job cuts resulting in a growing reliance on temporary “relief” staff.
A report from the union highlighted that temporary employees have “frequently covered over 1,000 hours per month”, and that nearly a quarter of all hours worked in November last year were by these temporary employees. Libraries representative Brian Debus told the council’s skills, economy and growth scrutiny panel that due to the multiple layoffs as part of the council’s restructure, “on a day-to-day basis, it’s literally a struggle to keep the show on the road”.
“Otherwise, you wouldn’t have those large numbers of relief hours,” he said. The number of hours worked by relief staff is equivalent to nine full-time employees, and this reliance on casual contracts “is in tension with council policy and Hackney Labour’s position against the use of zero-hours staff”, the report adds.
Hackney’s Labour-run council has not banned the use of zero-hours contracts for the local authority workforce, nor does it have a stated policy around the controversial arrangements. But it has made clear criticisms of their uses. The borough’s inclusive economy strategy for 2019-2025 states: “Zero-hours contracts may suit some people, but they create greater job insecurity and can make people more exposed to exploitative practices, because it can be easier to let someone go.”.
