GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

If we are going to be supportive of ‘gig’ economy workers, we have got to make

sure that it is on our terms and not on the terms of the employer. This is an

absolute minimum, but our terms have got to mean no bogus self-employment,

that there is certainty of hours and pay, that there are equivalent terms and

conditions as if you were in the normal economy in terms of holiday,

maternity/paternity leave and so on and, finally, and crucially for the movement,

we have got to be able to collectivise and to organise within those areas and

we have got to have effective union bargaining. If we do not have those

minimum terms then, frankly, we have got to put a flag in the ground to be

saying that we are opposed to ‘gig’ employment on that basis, so as a

movement we do need to set out our stall.

I said I would come to GMB’s position on the motion. Where are we on this

motion? We are concerned that this motion potentially calls to make the

system better for ‘gig’ workers and ‘gig’ employers and if you do that you create

a space for the exploitative ‘gig’ employers to move into that space and to carry

on and further the exploitation of ‘gig’ workers. I know that is not the intention

of the motion, the intention of the motion is clearly well-meaning, but one of the

unintended consequences of this motion could be that we make things worse

for those exploiting ‘gig’ workers than it currently is. Our position on this motion

is that we would like to hear more from Community, and we would ask you to

come back in a right of reply, that this motion does not mean a change to our

movement’s objection and opposition to the exploitation of ‘gig’ workers. We

need to hear more from Community on that.

I will get my one Shakespeare quote in. For the exploitative ‘gig’ employers:

“We come to bury Caesar not to praise him”. For every one happy ‘gig’ worker,

as I said before, we will show you a hundred, if not a thousand exploited ones.

We know that there are many agency workers and many ‘gig’ workers out there

who cannot make ends meet, cannot afford to pay the rent, cannot afford to

feed their family. Yes, we want happy ‘gig’ workers, but we have yet to be

convinced how many happy ‘gig’ workers there are going to be out there in the

economy.

98