Businesses will have to find new models of work practices to end the casualisation of work.
That is according to Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Longford-Westmeath TD, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran.
Minister Moran was commenting on remarks by An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who said legislation to outlaw zero hour contracts should be before the Dáil by Christmas.
“As a country, we must no longer tolerate a situation where a worker gets up on a Monday morning and doesn’t know how many hours he or she will have to work that week,” said Minister Moran.
“People on zero hour contacts cannot properly build lives with their families, have great difficulty in obtaining loans including getting a mortgage. As a society, this is a business model that has no place in a social democracy such as ours. It is the product of a failed business model that should never have gained traction in this country. Workers deserve to be treated with greater dignity and respect.”
Minister Moran said employees must now be given certainty of hours.
“They should not to be taken for granted and kept on tender hooks by an employer who has no interest beyond maximising profits, that particular kind of profiteering has proved extremely damaging the world over, and we must move away from it,” he commented.
“This is an issue that I as Minister have been particularly active on for some time at Government level, and I welcome the Taoiseach’s comments. I look forward to seeing the legislation put before the House as soon as possible.”
