An anonymous Labour staffer has alleged that colleagues have been forced to use payday lenders and food banks because of insecure short-term contracts, and has called on party members to lobby management for better working conditions.
In an article for LabourList, the employee said colleagues received “intolerable abuse” from some Labour members while working in the party’s communications headquarters in Newcastle and had difficulty making ends meet.
They said many Labour employees were on insecure 12-hour week contracts, sometimes for just a couple of months.
“I know of colleagues who have used payday lenders, I know of colleagues who have been to food banks and I know of colleagues who are now in long-term debt,” the staffer wrote.
“These are staffers who are employed as on as little as 12 hours a week and don’t know how many hours they will work next week. These are colleagues who have contracts lasting as little as two months, outside of election time, and these are colleagues who have families and children to support. That isn’t working to live, that’s working to survive.”
Short-term contracts are common for political campaigns and are regularly used by all political parties. Labour said its staff were fully unionised and there were regular discussions between senior management and staff representatives. A spokesman said: “Labour party employees are paid no less than a real living wage of £10 an hour and the party does not use zero-hours contracts.”
Labour’s general secretary Jennie Formby tweeted in response to the story saying that she would respond to the points raised and had personally overseen a wage increase for staff. “As a lifelong trade unionist I will always listen and respond to employees’ concerns,” she said.
One of my first acts as GS was to increase our call centre worker wages to £10 ph. Labour employees have full union recognition and collective bargaining through @GMB and @unitetheunion. As a lifelong trade unionist I will always listen and respond to employees’ concerns https://t.co/YsBwjGRfBf
— Jennie Formby (@JennieGenSec) October 9, 2018
A party source said employees would be encouraged to raise any concerns about working conditions, including those in financial difficulty who could receive advice and support from the party. It is understood there is no live official dispute between staff and management.
The staffer, who works at the Labour national communications centre, said the situation was common for many people across the country but it “should not be the reality for our own staff, the bedrock of our movement.”
Labour should be held to a higher standard, the staffer wrote, asking Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson, as well as MPs and trade unions, to take action.
The staff member said many on short-term contracts were given only a few hours notice of when they were needed. “This isn’t Sports Direct. These are our brothers and sisters and they have families and kids to pay for,” they wrote.
“Party staffers are relying on tax credits to make ends meet while fighting tirelessly for a Labour government for the many. Our employment is insecure but we believe workers should have the right to contracted hours that match the hours we regularly work.
“My call to the Labour movement is this: stand shoulder to shoulder with party staff and ask Jennie Formby to get round the negotiating table with us.”
Another party employee who contacted the Guardian echoed the concerns in the LabourList piece and said they did not feel the party had engaged adequately with the problems raised.
“Jennie’s tweet and the statement by the Labour Party don’t reflect the real situation. We aren’t being taken seriously,” the staffer said. “Staff are struggling with the hours they work and the uncertainty it brings. Most members of staff don’t agree with doing this through an article but agree with the points it raised.”
