Kate Taylor

By Kate Taylor katetaylor

The Office for National Statistics have released data today showing that UK unemployment has fallen by 43,000 (between February and April) to a pithy 1.8 million.

The government may be feeling very pleased with themselves but as usual, the statistics are more about what’s unsaid.

Zero hour contracts for example, which Iain Duncan Smith recently told Sky News should be renamed ‘flexible-hour contracts’, are still going strong.

In fact they appear to be turning into a staple for employers hiring not only those with dependants, but those who are living so far over the line they have little choice to take a job with no security.

I worked in numerous retail and bar jobs when younger, including when I first became a single parent. None of them ever guaranteed worthwhile hours on paper, and I was always asked if I could be ‘completely flexible’ with my availability at every interview.

I have vivid memories of the countless times I turned up for a shift only to be told I wasn’t needed today (managers would always wait until you got there). With a heavy heart I would trudge back home calculating how much money I’d lost; and praying business would pick up so no more of my shifts would be cut that week.

Those in favour of zero hours say that the flexibility it allows works well for carers, parents and students. Why not contract them for a minimum number of hours arranged between employer and employee, thus everyone is happy?

I have yet to meet anyone who likes their zero hour contract; or even their six, eight or ten hours that still leave them below the minimum working tax credit threshold of 16 hours.

What isn’t mentioned in today’s reports is that people are taking jobs that aren’t suitable, that don’t meet their needs; because there is little choice.

Though there may be an decrease in unemployment, for many employees of sometimes two and three jobs respectively, living hand to mouth is still the only option there is.

We can bandy statistics around and wave the banner of success, but this does not change the fact that for many, life is hard. Unreasonably, unfeasibly hard in a country that’s supposed to be a leading world power.

How are we supposed to lay the foundations for the next generation when our nation’s idea of employment leaves so little to be desired?

This cannot merely be left to legislation and parliamentary bill implementation. Companies need to realise that properly paid staff will be much more inclined to work harder and do more.

Kate Taylor is a sociologist, mother and tea and cake lover. When not working in sociological and marketing research with her company, Galilee Research, Kate can be found talking about political philosophy on the school run.

By Kate Taylor katetaylor

This weekend will see the Magna Carta’s 800th anniversary come to pass, and for those in Lincoln, a treat indeed. When we look behind the veil of celebrations though, what does this ancient document actually mean to us and for us?

‘The Great Charter’ – originally founded on June 15 1215, was brought about to quell rebel barons who were unhappy with King John, thus aiding to destroy the so called divine right of Kings. Of course this world-famous document has undergone numerous makeovers, scandals and indeed ignorance; but where does it leave us today?

The Human Rights Act of 1998 is the UK’s implementation of the European Convention of Human Rights; stemming from the 1948 UN Declaration on Human Rights, which saw international effort to prevent a repeat of atrocities seen in the Second World War.

Fast forward to post 9/11 and our government is scrambling for special measures, thus the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 comes to fruition; argued as one of the widest breaches of habeas corpus (unlawful detention or imprisonment), whereby certain sections held the ‘thin veneer of legality’ in an attempt to detain foreign citizens suspected of terrorism without trial – due to evidence too sensitive or admissible by the court, but substantial enough for detention.

Incidentally, habeaus corpus itself is wrongly attributed to the Magna Carta, though still predates back hundreds of years. Now under the new Tory majority government, we are facing the possibility of having the human rights act pulled from under our feet and replaced, leaving the public, experts and politicians alike bemused, confused or plain irate at such an idea.

The basic premise is the Conservative’s fight to gain independence which it sees as being strangled by the EU. Currently, British courts are required to fall in with judgements made in the European Court of Human Rights; whereas they want the buck to stop with the UK and in turn wish to replace it with a ‘British bill of rights’.

Though, as Stewart Wood notes, after over a decade of campaigning, the Tories have yet to emerge with a solid plan of what would be featured in the bill or how it would work. Not a particularly strong start for changing our civil liberties.

On top of this, there are other worries, such as what would happen with the Good Friday agreement? Would this bill cover all those in Britain, or just nationals? Are we to exit the ’48 declaration that Churchill himself wanted drawn up?

Sociologically speaking, it all comes down to control. What control do we have over our lives? Writer Leigh Doughty muses that things like “bail implies guilt, or, in a way, buying freedom. We know why it’s there but it undermines basic rights.”

Though there are many instances of the HR act providing assistance to those in need; how rigid is it if it can be undermined by legislation, or even repealed, at the drop of a hat?

One could argue we need to concentrate on the bigger picture, the state of nature. When the law has seemingly failed us, we turn to a higher power, in this case the EU. This applies to all other countries under its jurisdiction, so why then must our government be so set against it? Control.

Whether the Conservatives will be able to push this through, is yet to be seen, but for now most people believe we’re in for a long wait as Cameron has already said this is the time for drafting, not implementing.

So as we revel in this weekend’s fine celebrations of what arguably paved the way for the voice of the average citizen, let us all remember what we have fought for, what we have won, and what we could lose.

Kate Taylor is a sociologist, mother and tea and cake lover. When not working in sociological and marketing research with her company, Galilee Research, Kate can be found talking about political philosophy on the school run.