Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 31 May 2018 - Strasbourg

8.8. Responding to petitions on tackling precariousness and the abusive use of fixed-term contracts (B8-0238/2018)

Oral explanations of vote

  Alex Mayer (S&D). – Madam President, I have spoken before in this Chamber about the brave McDonald’s workers who are standing up to their bosses with the Bakers Union, one of the key players behind the original petition leading to today’s resolution. Once again I praise their efforts.

McStrike is a global phenomenon and what is clear from the US’s Fight for 15, the anger across Europe and from my own constituents, especially in Cambridge and Watford, is that there is now a new brand of activism. This is the fightback of the Millennials. The workers in my constituency – predominantly young – are sick and tired of zero hours contracts, they want GBP 10 an hour and wages not based on ages. They are angry and they are rallying public support to their cause.

So I welcome today’s resolution which sends an important message to government and to people like Steve Easterbrook. Now we need action as we stand in solidarity with those in poorly paid, insecure and unprotected jobs.

  Rory Palmer (S&D). – Madam President, 75 000 people in the East Midlands are on zero hours contracts – that is 75 000 people who do not know from one day to the next wherever they have work or whether they will bring in a pay packet at the end of the week. So I will continue to press for zero hours contracts to be banned. We need to get back to when work was about valuing people, their rights, and when work was about dignity. So in casting my vote today, I am clear that it is time to end the low pay, zero hours, precarious, unstable, dehumanising nature of work for so many people today. It is time to sack zero hours contracts.

  President. – That concludes the explanations of vote.