‘Zero-hour Contracts’, ‘Labour Flexibility’ and Other Euphemisms of the Neoliberal Agenda

How the markets, business and their political allies break the social contract.

Recent stories of ‘zero-hour contracts’ should come as no surprise. They are but one consequence of the rise of neoliberalism. Profits are prioritised over people; workers’ rights are eroded under the banner of ‘labour flexibility’; and the social safety net is recast as an unaffordable luxury.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Democracy and the expansion of suffrage in the early-20th century brought political rights to the masses and, from this, social rights. Workers saw their common interests and organised. From the trade union movement came social democratic political parties, who fought for the rights of their constituency. Crucially, though, this occurred within the bounds of the established political and economic system. The political elite, the markets and business ceded ground, recognising that the alternative to mass participation was radicalism and socio-political upheaval. A social contract of sorts was thus formed: the rights and dignity of workers, in exchange for the continuation of a capitalist, free-market democracy. That contract has been broken.

At the root of this break is neoliberalism. The agenda advanced by Reagan and Thatcher is now dominant, and its results are there for all to see.

Take ‘zero-hour contracts’: ensuring efficiency for companies by reducing spending on wages to the absolute bare necessity, therefore, maximising profits for shareholders and institutional investors. Risk, that Big Mac sales will be down for McDonalds for example, is absorbed by the company’s minimum wage employees, with hours reduced to reflect downturns in sales. Generally, financial institutions and businesses would be expected to account for their share of market volatility, paying-out smaller dividends, for example. Now, employers such as McDonalds and Sports Direct have sought to shift a large proportion of this uncertainty onto their workers. Low-pay employees are left to wonder whether they will earn enough this week to pay their bills, while the profit margins of their employers are sustained. Labour rights are virtually non-existent. Demonised trade unions, hounded and marginalised under the weight of statute, offer little protection. Under such conditions, workers are forced to ‘take-it or leave-it.’ And that is really no choice at all. Failure to find work during one of the greatest economic crisis the world has ever seen, may land you in Poundland stacking shelves for your weekly £56.80 Jobseeker’s Allowance (less than what you would get if they were to actually pay you for your work). Yes, the government which brands the unemployed as ‘scroungers’ is happy to subsidise private business with free labour.

The dice are loaded. The narrative has been rewritten.

The Banking Crisis has become a crisis of government economic mismanagement. ‘Wreckless’ government spending on such ‘luxuries’ as health, education and social security, is now advanced as the cause of economic ruin. The bailouts are forgotten as million pound bonuses return to the City and the top-rate of tax is cut. Meanwhile, the ‘Bedroom Tax’ forces families, the elderly and those with disabilities out of their communities for the crime of ‘under-occupancy.’ The disaffected are blamed for the negligent opulence of millionaires.

Social mobility is also under attack. Higher education was once viewed as a public good, something which benefitted all in society. Graduates contributed with their skills and generated wealth. Those who went on to high salaries paid back-in through a system of taxation which valued equality, paying for the next generation. Government ministers, educated in a system of free higher education, now demand payments of up to £9,000 a year for tuition. Students face the prospect of thousands of pounds worth of personal debt regardless of their future career path. Risk is assumed individually, not collectively, aligning with neoliberal assertions that benefits are accrued in the same fashion. Furthermore, upon leaving university, graduates are encouraged to gift their labour to private businesses and firms. Those unable to support themselves through ‘internships’ are left disadvantaged in the ‘competitive graduate job marketplace.’ Here, jobs are scarce and graduates abundant. Disingenuous statements from government officials promise support for those from the poorest backgrounds. However, many from less-affluent families are sure to be discouraged from entering the high-stakes game of modern higher education.

And so it is that the social contract is dismantled. The idea of society and common good are replaced with neoliberal conceptions of the free market and individualism. Latin America also has extensive experience of the pervasive effects of neoliberal policies: GDP grows, but so too does income inequality and the informal labour sector. Public resources have been colonised by multi-national firms, with many left to wonder when the wealth will finally ‘trickle down.’ A wave of left-wing governments have sought to reverse the free market policies of the past and bring dignity to the masses through the extension of socio-economic rights. Faced with pressure from international markets and the hegemonic power of the US, such a project is precarious. For all their imperfections, though, the attempts of these governments to rebalance the scales are to be admired. If demands from below for a new and better way can have an effect in Latin America, why not in this country? The social contract was established through political organisation and recognition of shared interests. It can be re-established. Reject the dehumanising euphemisms of neoliberalism. Social, political and economic rights must be afforded to all.

Tags: Bedroom Tax, Labor rights, Latin America, McDonalds, Neoliberalism, Politics, Trade Unions