National News First 100 days of Boris..........

[Sheik djibouti]

But there was more to this story that you haven't mentioned.
As a result of this case, DPD changed their employment contracts to give self-employed drivers access to paid annual leave, sick pay and pension entitlement:

DPD to offer self-employed drivers sick pay and annual leave

Parcel delivery company DPD is to give self-employed drivers access to benefits such as paid annual leave, sick pay and pension entitlement through a

www.personneltoday.com

Wait...so someone actually had to DIE before they changed their employment contracts?!?

Jesus f*****g wept!

And for those crappy exploitative employers that have been lucky enough not to have somebody actually DIE whilst in their employ are OK to carry on ripping the s**t out of those living in grinding poverty and struggling to make ends meet, so long as they stay just the right side of the mortuary? Because there will always be those desperate enough to need the job that badly, right?

But as long as the shareholders still get their dividend and the Execs still get their bonuses, then everything is fine I guess....

That is some f'ed up shizzle right there!

 

[PottersRightBoot]

If businesses don’t treat their employees fairly then employees will leave. There are other jobs to go to - in the main. We’ve just had figures out showing unemployment figures at lowest since 1975.

Customers can of course also give up on Amazon if they feel so strongly about the way the drivers are treated.

And yes the choice on offer last week was socialism or capitalism.

 

[tonyw]

They can get a less comprehensive deal done to resolve some of the bigger item and then add to it afterwards as negotiations continue - the EU seem quite comfortable with that idea, so it's no need to panic or meltdown. Infact, it's probably better for Rejoiners that is done more quickly so they can start their campaign to rejoin ? .

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that rejoining is not an option.
Britain would have to sign up for the Euro, for Schengen and would have to pay more into the budget (no rebate).
If the British public wants out of the status quo, then they sure as hell aren't going to vote for that - not unless there's the sort of complete economic collapse that no one wants.

Nope, leaving the EU is a one-way ticket.


BoJo putting in a hard deadline for the trade talks is interesting.
Could mean either of two opposite things - that he's very comfortable with the prospects and freedom of a no deal, and he's trying to create himself a better bargaining position with the EU. Or that he already knows that he's going to make a raft of concessions to the EU in trade talks to make sure a deal gets done in the truncated time frame, and he's making sure that the ERG wing of his own party can't block it...….

 

[carefreeoufc]

In all honesty both @Essexyellows and @Pete Burrett you're both correct in large parts regarding fair wages, self employed workers and the rights of migrant workers being paid piece rate in Chinese factories (though it tends to be less of an issue in China than other areas of Asia).

As consumers we’ve wanted our trainers, laptops or whatever to be available to us cheaply, decent quality and delivered in a timely manner. Apple getting caught out AGAIN today due to child workers being involved in the extraction of cobalt is a prime example! Unfortunately global companies have then sought to deliver this by using manufacturers in Asia to produce their goods where in some cases 10s of thousands of workers live and work in factories to produce the stuff we consume.

The sad thing is that instead of looking at these countries and thinking a) we shouldn’t allow that to happen, we’ve largely ignored it and b) we’ve actually allowed it to happen in our own country. To argue that this is global commercialisation etc. is fair enough but as someone who visits factories, farms, distribution centres etc. globally (including UK) and has seen the absolute disregard for people’s basic human rights I think we should be striving for a bit more than that.

The International Labour Organisation states that workers should receive an adequate living wage (appropriate for their country) as is also stipulated in the Treaty of Versailles. Paying someone 40p per delivery because the worker joins as a ‘self employed’ individual is not adequate. Those that work in construction will know how many (particularly Romanian) workers are working as ‘self employed’ and get charged a fee of about £20 per week as a payroll fee from the agency they use which depending on the role has brought them under minimum wage. A guy I spoke to last week was taxed by his ‘boss’ (he was self employed) 3% per week where he earned over £350 as a Traffic Marshal. It’s fine to say they choose to do the job but someone is making a profit here and it’s certainly not the bloke I spoke to. That money needs to find its way back to the worker or into the public purse.

As a country that we are somehow arguing can be so great we really need to focus on improving our own standards in relation to worker and human rights. Just like environmental issues I’m a bloody hypocrite and I don’t live some sort of perfect life where I don’t consume regardless of the things I’ve seen as a result of my work. That being said I do acknowledge that there are improvements that can be made both to what I do and to what I hold the Government accountable for in this country. There’s a distinct increase in some pretty bad labour practices that we would expect to see in Asia and South Asia in this country and it’s been on the rise. My personal (and i’d regard it as informed) opinion is that it will only get worse over the coming few years unfortunately.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Not only have we learned on this forum that the poor can always eat less, they can always walk into another job.

Elsewhere I find that the Prime Minister is a pen thief. I've never had a high opinion of people who flaunt ownership of Mont Blanc pens and this letter to the Grauniad confirms that in my mind. Boris Johnson has an endearing trait, who'd have thought it; the wounds are healing as I type.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Indeed @Sarge, the future belongs to us.

 

[Sarge]

Stocking fillers for some of the PMs offspring? ?

 

[PottersRightBoot]

Not only have we learned on this forum that the poor can always eat less, they can always walk into another job.

Elsewhere I find that the Prime Minister is a pen thief. I've never had a high opinion of people who flaunt ownership of Mont Blanc pens and this letter to the Grauniad confirms that in my mind. Boris Johnson has an endearing trait, who'd have thought it; the wounds are healing as I type.

Well also hope you’ve learned that the poor are far more likely to move to another job in 2019 Uk than at any other time in last 50 years.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Where would anyone have learned that, newly fired-up master?

 

[Sharp Edges]

Boris has promised time and again (already) that he will 'do right' for the disadvantaged. So it has plenty to do with Boris.

You go ahead with the 'survival of the fittest' hard man act. The fact is there are a lot of people in this country struggling, and it's not all their fault.

I think employees being treated like this is disgusting, however Tony Blair promised to ban zero hours contracts in 1995 yet didnt manage it in 15 years.
And all this is happening when the EU are protecting workers rights, thank goodness for that.

 

[Londonroader1]

Er what's happened is what surely you knew was going to happen re Brexit getting done.
So we leave on January 31 and then the trade agreement talks happen.

That all makes a lot of sense....But thats Brexit.

 

[LowerSouth]

Ah OK, I didnt realise.
The self employed rules need to be looked at undoubtedly.
I wonder who stands up for these people and lobbies for them.
I know that Unions work for their members, but maybe they ought to look at the bigger picture and put more resources into trying to find out the scale of the problem (do a lot of people like this arrangement or does everybody have a huge issue with it)?

The self employed regulations are a farce.
The building trade is full of selfies who work for the same contractor week in,month and year out- how does that fly?

 

[Gary Baldi]

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that rejoining is not an option.
Britain would have to sign up for the Euro, for Schengen and would have to pay more into the budget (no rebate).
If the British public wants out of the status quo, then they sure as hell aren't going to vote for that - not unless there's the sort of complete economic collapse that no one wants.

Nope, leaving the EU is a one-way ticket.


BoJo putting in a hard deadline for the trade talks is interesting.
Could mean either of two opposite things - that he's very comfortable with the prospects and freedom of a no deal, and he's trying to create himself a better bargaining position with the EU. Or that he already knows that he's going to make a raft of concessions to the EU in trade talks to make sure a deal gets done in the truncated time frame, and he's making sure that the ERG wing of his own party can't block it...….

You and I know that, the People's Vote lot have asked to change their name to something Rejoiny.

As for the negotiations, who knows. The position hasn't gone down that well in the EU, plus the Govt "think" the basic position has already been agreed. My guess is they are happy to leave with a half complete deal that contains the big stuff and work the rest out later, rather than spending years and years dotting i's and crossing t's. The removal some of items suggests they are more than happy with a half complete deal that allows the UK to get out ASAP - as such, once we're out, the courts, etc cannot get involved. It's a position of strength, I suppose

 

[Essexyellows]

The self employed regulations are a farce.
The building trade is full of selfies who work for the same contractor week in,month and year out- how does that fly?

The purpose of self employment is, ironically, to give those self employed folk freedom.

However, wherever there is regulation, be it tax, employment status etc there is always a "way round it".

Our NHS Trust came up with an idea of creating an "arms length company" who were ,effectively, private employers (stricter terms & conditions for the staff etc). That company then provides a service to the organisation so we can claim back the VAT on turnover.................. the Government soon stopped that.

Ironic that the free movement of labour from our soon to be ex-EU friends is used to abuse the workforce and drive down wages..............

 

[Sarge]

a few poignant words from the bard of Woking , circa 1980, applicable today even more so ....

 

[IsleofWightYellow]

But there was more to this story that you haven't mentioned.
As a result of this case, DPD changed their employment contracts to give self-employed drivers access to paid annual leave, sick pay and pension entitlement:

DPD to offer self-employed drivers sick pay and annual leave

Parcel delivery company DPD is to give self-employed drivers access to benefits such as paid annual leave, sick pay and pension entitlement through a

www.personneltoday.com

That’s great, and I’m glad the company DPD have made those improvements. There are still plenty of others which haven’t though.

 

[Sarge]

austerity continues unabated by this heartless government....

Tories use first day back to attack the disabled

DWP removes option for claimants to choose whether work assessment outcomes are reported to GPs

morningstaronline.co.uk

 

[Essexyellows]

austerity continues unabated by this heartless government....

Tories use first day back to attack the disabled

DWP removes option for claimants to choose whether work assessment outcomes are reported to GPs

morningstaronline.co.uk

Because the Morning Star are unlikely to have an agenda.................. the system is broken and needs fixing, however I would agree not taking into account the GP`s thoughts is poor.

 

[Sarge]

Because the Morning Star are unlikely to have an agenda.................. the system is broken and needs fixing, however I would agree not taking into account the GP`s thoughts is poor.

I'd've preferred the Independent report on the same story (tends to be more, err, independent ) ... but its not gone 'online', as yet

 

[Essexyellows]

Yes, but what you need to understand is that everybody has a choice. If they don't like earning less than the minimum wage on a self-employed basis (even though that's the only work they can get in their own personal circumstances) they have CHOICES.

They could get on their bike and move to another location, perhaps joining a City law firm, or simply adjust their lifestyle to one they can more easily afford, without those 70 inch TVs and fancy restaurant meals. They should just stop whining about their lot. There are some really hard men on this thread who've done OK in life and believe everyone else could do likewise if they weren't so feckless or shackled by little things like personal circumstances, location and a system that doesn't protect them.

And why should the system protect them anyway? There will always be relatively worthless members of society. Let's keep them in their places. Expecting every one to have a decent life is pure Marxism. We voted against that last week, don't you know.

Why should society subsidise everyone else? There is always someone at the bottom of the pile and somebody at the top....its been like that for millenia.
You can not have "one size fits all" in life, its tough but its true!
Yes, adjust their lifestyle or change things within their control but expect others to subsidise them........... no sirreee!