Oxfam Scotland research and policy adviser Francis Stuart says dwindling workers' rights is bad news for the whole country
THE new face of poverty in Scotland is young. In the last decade, poverty among 19-25 year olds rose twice as much as any other age group. More often than not these young people are also in-work.
When you ask young, low-paid workers about working in Scotland, a worrying picture emerges: from the barista who reports being paid less than the minimum wage, to the call centre agent humiliated for taking 'too long' in the toilet, to the fast food worker who says she was refused time off for her gran’s funeral.
These are just some of the stories revealed in new research undertaken by Oxfam in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland and Warwick Institute for Employment Research to examine what low-paid workers in Scotland prioritise in order to have 'decent work', and how far the labour market delivers on these priorities.
When you ask young, low-paid workers about working in Scotland, a worrying picture emerges: from the barista who reports being paid less than the minimum wage, to the call centre agent humiliated for taking 'too long' in the toilet.
Crucially, this wasn’t research on low-paid workers but research with low-paid workers. More than 1,500 people across Scotland gave their views about what 'decent work' means to them.
Participants recruited from low-paid sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail, prioritised 26 factors. Top of the list for low-paid workers (of all ages) were: a decent hourly rate; job security; paid leave; a safe working environment and a supportive line manager.
For workers aged 16-24 the only difference was that a job free from discrimination came into the top five in place of a safe working environment.
Beyond the top five factors, the findings showed that young workers value a job with flexible hours and opportunities for progression more highly than older workers. In contrast, older workers tended to value job security; fair pay to similar jobs; and workplace representation.
16-24 year olds were significantly less likely to value training opportunities as important – indeed this was ranked last overall for that age group.
Much of these differences are likely to reflect experiences of the labour market. In the same way that male and female workers have different experiences of the labour market, so do younger and older workers.
Generally speaking, young workers are more likely to be discriminated against, more likely to be on zero-hour contracts and less likely to be unionised.
Generally speaking, young workers are more likely to be undertaking non-workplace learning opportunities, transitioning in and out of employment and working in temporary jobs. They are more likely to be balancing work with study and, having relatively recently embarked on their career, are likely to be looking for progression opportunities.
They are also more likely to be discriminated against, more likely to be on zero-hour contracts and less likely to be unionised.
Associated research undertaken by UWS academics through the UWS-Oxfam partnership found that secondary school pupils expect to get decent work which will allow them to live comfortably and which will be valued by society. Unfortunately the reality seems somewhat different.
It is clear that strategies to improve the quality of work in Scotland need to account for young workers' needs and concerns. We should be upgrading employment conditions rather than downgrading the aspirations of our future workforce.
Despite the difference between workers of different ages, when we look at the top five factors for young low-paid workers and for all low-paid workers we see fairly basic conditions which people should be able to expect.
Job security is also a growing concern with 138,000 employees on temporary contracts and 78,000 on zero-hour contracts. Additionally, 324,000 working adults in Scotland do not feel supported by their line manager.
None are unreasonable or extravagant, but the experiences shared by participants, combined with an assessment of the labour market in Scotland, indicate there is still a long way to go.
For example, despite a big push in Scotland, one in five employees are paid less than the voluntary living wage, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. Job security is also a growing concern with 138,000 employees on temporary contracts and 78,000 on zero-hour contracts. Additionally, 324,000 working adults in Scotland do not feel supported by their line manager.
Understanding these priorities and how far we have to go to meeting them is critical because the negative impacts of poor quality and low-paid work extend far beyond individual workers – they also make efforts by policymakers to reduce poverty much more difficult and negatively impact the whole economy.
This is despite research showing employers who provide increased pay and improved conditions can benefit significantly through, for example, increases in productivity and lower staff turnover.
While we recognise the limits of devolved powers, our report makes a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government, as well as to employers. These include: giving the Fair Work Convention a specific role in investigating and improving employment conditions; ensuring public cash is used to incentivise and reward good employment practices; and the development of strategies to tackle low pay in sectors where it is endemic.
It is critical that efforts to deliver decent work for all are defined by the people who need it most.
It is critical that efforts to deliver decent work for all are defined by the people who need it most.
As our research makes clear, for low-paid workers – young and old – there is a significant job still to be done.
Picture courtesy of Alan Clark
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