271 words, 1 minute read time.
Britain has witnessed a significant surge in insecure, low-paid work over the past 14 years, according to a recent report by the TUC. This surge underscores the urgent need for stronger workers’ rights and better pay to ensure fair and secure employment for all.
The TUC’s comprehensive study reveals that the number of people in insecure work has soared to an unprecedented 4.1 million. Analyzing official statistics, the report highlights that nearly one million additional people have entered “precarious” employment between 2011 and 2023. This includes roles involving zero-hours contracts, low-paid self-employment, and casual or seasonal work.
Alarmingly, the rise in insecure work has been nearly three times faster than the growth of secure employment. According to the TUC, one in eight workers in the UK is now engaged in precarious employment, with the increase driven predominantly by lower-paid sectors.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak emphasizes the detrimental impact of this trend: “We need a government that will make work pay, but over the last 14 years we have seen an explosion in insecure, low-paid work. The UK’s long experiment with a low-rights, low-wage economy has been terrible for growth, productivity, and living standards. Real wages are still worth less than in 2008 and across the country, people are trapped in jobs that offer little or no security.“
Echoing this sentiment, Pat Harrington, General Secretary of Solidarity, asserts, “The rise in insecure work is a direct attack on the dignity of workers. It’s time to put an end to this exploitation and demand better protections and pay for all. Workers deserve stability and respect, not the constant uncertainty of precarious employment.”
