The History of Casual Work in the UK

[Mitch]

This article below is taken from:

Calder Voice, Number 124, November 1987, p.5 (more from the Headless archive - fascinating stuff and a snapshot perspective on casual work which was well away in the UK in the late 1980s, and pertinent to me as in 1987 I was a secretarial temp.)

The Calder Voice was based in Sowerby Bridge, and was a publication from the ILP (Independent Labour Party) members there.

"PERMANENT TEMPS

Most people are half aware that there has been a shift from full time to part time, temporary work and 'self employment'. Few know the extent of it. The fact is that 25% of the male workforce and 50% of the female workforce now come into one or other of these categories. Seven million people in all.

Evidence shows that the more dramatic and continuing shift is from relatively 'permanent' employment to temporary work. There were approximately 600,000 temps in 1981. This had increased to 1,400,000 in 1985 and is still rising.

It is not the small operators who are demanding this development, but the large and fast growing service sector companies and organisations.

These malleable, poorly paid, 'flexible' workers have been grossly exploited by employers who want to use a significant number of workpeople at 'peak times' and according to seasonal variations.

HIRE AND FIRE

In the private sector particularly in office, shop and semi skilled and unskilled manual work, 'temps' have often been used in effect, to protect a hard core of full time employees which the employer might have made redundant, had he or she not had the 'flexible' temporary workers which they could hire and fire without fuss.

In the public sector, reduced expenditure, and financial constraints imposed by the government, have encouraged job losses, often through the convenient, and less painful process of 'natural wastage' but without the corresponding loss of the work that went with the job.

MARGINALISED

They tend to be on the lowest pay possible and without prospect of anything different. They are not represented by the unions and not often defended by those in full time employment. They are the marginalised workers who are increasingly being 'used' by everyone.

The logical consequence of this development is either an increase in the workload of those 'gratefully' remaining in work, or the employment of temporary workers. It is usually a mixture of the two. The result is a growing temporary workforce, nearly two thirds of which are women."

I'm not sure where these figures come from, but the TUC estimates today that there are 600,000 temps in the UK (the same as 1981?)
www.tuc.org.uk/em_research/tuc-10074-f0.cfm

I'd say it would be useful to look at the developing trends of casual work, who are casual workers, what particular kinds of work are they doing - are they still mostly women. Looking at these kinds of issues may help to think more cleverly about organising strategies. Also, as this article alludes to, are temps/casual workers still being used seasonally.

Anyway, this article for me is a reminder of just how long temps/casual work has been with us in the UK. It is not something new - the unions have known about these shifts in work patterns for some time.

[Mitch]

www.theobservatory.org.uk/publications/Occasional%20Paper%207%20-%20Temporary%20work%20in%20the%20UK.pdf

This is an interesting report from Nottingham Trent on trends in temporary workers - a little in the 'focus on legislative' mold, and aren't other European countries doing it better - but hey it's well useful for looking at what particular sectors are using the most temp workers, regional hotspots - London & the West Mids, and clear identification that growth in temp workers has been highest in Clerical jobs and for plant and machinery operatives.

Identifies the public sector as responsible for main increases in temporary work through the 1990s, by 2000 one in five of all temp workers were in education, and one in 8 were in health and social work - on gender trends it's less helpful on, but these are sectors with large numbers of women - nurses/care workers/and they'll be in hospital catering and cleaning.

Major growth in temp workers in gas/electricity/water from 1992-2000, up from 4 to 10% - call centres?

This report also highlights the UK's particular unique feature with casual work - that it has grown against a backdrop of minimal formal legislation to provide employment protection for casual workers - they are on contracts for services and outside of employment legislation protection.

Also highlighting temps are on lower wages and less likely to receive any training - predicting that an increasing reliance on temporary work will lead to increasing skills shortages.

It's an interesting and accessible report, allbeit a couple of years old.

[michele cryer]

Thanks for these reports Mitch...very interesting employment trends history there!