Eastbourne’s MP has called Universal Credit a ‘train wreck’ and has said Christmas will be ‘bitterly hard’ for the town’s families unless it is paused. Stephen Lloyd, the Work and Pensions spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, criticised the policy in a speech at the party’s conference.

Please see the video below: 

'I lost my benefits due to post chaos'

A Pensioner has had her disability benefit stopped after a lack of postmen meant mail wasn’t delivered to homes in Dovercourt.

Last week the Standard reported how a former postie was asked to collect his own parcel and then given a pile of undelivered post.

Diane Davis, of Howard Avenue, says she also stopped receiving letters along with her neighbours.

But when her post was delivered, she discovered an important appointment to assess her disability payments on August 31.

The 67-year-old said: “I got the letter after the appointment, I think on September 6.

“I called and explained but they said because I didn’t turn up they were stopping my benefits.

“I’m being penalised because of the post not being delivered.

“I pulled the postman up on it and he said we’re lucky to get it as they are so short staffed, some days we’ll get it and some days we won’t.”

Miss Davis suffers with severe back pain, needs a walking stick, and has arthritis in her fingers.

She says she relies on her benefit payment to buy food and put towards her rent.

“I’ve got crumbling of the spine and the doctor says it will just get worse,” she added.

“I rely on that money, without it I’m going to struggle.

“They said it will have to be taken as a new claim, I’ll have to go for an appointment.

“I don’t know how long it will take to sort out.”

A spokesman from the Department for Work and Pensions said they are in talks with Miss Davis about resolving the issue and restarting her benefit claim.

Speaking last week, Royal Mail spokesman Henry Perry apologised about the level of service customers in Harwich had received due to staffing shortages.

He said they were trying to resolve the issue and recruit staff as quickly as possible.

SNP MP Stewart McDonald has written to all of Scotland’s party leaders to urge them to back a new law to ban the exploitative practice of unpaid trial shifts.
 
A public consultation on the Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill ended in August, and the bill has received the backing of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Better Than Zero campaign.  While the UK government does not have official comprehensive statistics on the number of people being asked to work unpaid trial periods, a recent study by Middlesex University and Trust for London, Unpaid Britain (2017), conservatively estimates that workers are missing out on £1.2billion in wages - with unpaid trial shifts contributing towards this.
 
The MP for Glasgow South is now calling on Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson to back the bill, whip her MPs to vote for it, and use her influence to secure Tory government support. The MP has also written to Scottish Labour’s leadership candidates, and Scottish Lib Dem Leader Willie Rennie, seeking a commitment that Labour and Lib Dem MPs will also back the bill.
 
Commenting, Stewart McDonald MP said:
 
“A fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay, but if my bill to ban exploitative unpaid trial shifts is to pass then it is vital that all of Scotland’s MPs get behind it, which is why we need to see a firm commitment of support from Scotland’s party leaders.
 
“Trial periods are used all too often by unscrupulous employers to take advantage of people who are desperately in need of a job, and use their labour for free without any guarantee – or even any intention – of an offer of paid work at the end of it.
 
“Since launching the bill I have heard from hundreds of people who have themselves been through this practice, and I cannot convey strongly enough the grim reality of what it is like for people to go through this kind of humiliating exploitation. It is a practice that belongs in the past and my bill offers some hope that it might finally be stamped out once and for all.
 
“SNP MPs will be backing the bill, and it has already received the support of the STUC, NUS, and the Better than Zero campaign, but the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems have yet to say whether they will support it.  
 
“I hope Ruth Davidson – and the other party leaders – will join the SNP in standing up for people in Scotland, by backing this bill to protect and extend the rights of Scottish workers and job seekers.”

This morning Transport for London (TfL) bowed to public pressure and revoked Uber’s license to operate in the capital.

This is a huge victory for workers’ rights and passenger safety.

Uber has been granted the right to appeal against an Employment Tribunal ruling that found that the organisation’s drivers are employed as workers and are entitled to the national minimum wage and holiday pay.

The appeal will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in London on 27 and 28 September 2017.

The appeal relates to the ruling released by the London Central Employment Tribunal on 28 October 2016 following the preliminary hearing of the Aslam and Farra v Uber case. In this case, the drivers contended that they were workers rather than self-employed contractors, and that they were therefore entitled to workers’ rights such as the national minimum wage and holiday pay.

The Employment Tribunal found that the drivers were employed as workers within the meaning of the Employment Rights Act, National Minimum Wage Act, and the working time regulations. The tribunal also found that the claimants were engaged in unmeasured work for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Regulations, and that their working time should be calculated in accordance with the working time regulations.

Information courtesy of the TUC.

A piece of interesting news prior to the Labour Conference is that the Labour Party are potentially planning to field many more female candidates, effectively to be ready to contest the next election. In some instances, successful male candidates nationally are being asked to step aside allowing this transition to take place. The Party could in effect be fielding a 50/50 ratio of men and women by the time the general election comes around.

Although it seems a little unfair on male candidates following the impressive turn around in Labours fortunes, this is a radical idea, and we may end up with a parliament that reflects more accurately the population as a whole.    

MIND the mental health charity have made changes relating to their Essex operations says; Stephanie Mills, Mid and North East Essex, Marketing & Fundraising Manager. 

MIND in Essex, now go under the moniker, Mid and North East Essex Mind. This is the email address; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Stephanie can be found on 01206 546478 should you want to make a donation or give support. 

MIND Mid and North East can be found in our directory: http://www.abcorg.net/health/mental-health

We will be adding to our ABC directory with the assistance of our Essex University student team (VTeam) recruits. The new term at Essex University starts 02 October.

Watch out for our ABC press gang as will be recruiting the bright, courageous and the beautiful to be help build our directory website with tons more valuable content.  

Confidence among small businesses in Scotland and the UK as a whole tumbled in the latest quarter, as higher inflation and domestic economic weakness weighed, a key survey reveals today.

The Federation of Small Businesses’ latest survey also shows small firms north of the Border have seen another fall in profits in the latest quarter. It signals there was a slight overall fall in staffing in the latest quarter, with a further reduction in employment anticipated in the coming three months. 

In work poverty, is not being addresses fully says a new report by Eurofound. 

One in ten workers in the EU is at risk of poverty, and 13% of workers are materially deprived and cannot afford basic household goods. Despite the fact that levels of in-work poverty have increased in Europe during the financial crisis, most Member States do not specifically address in-work poverty. These findings were highlighted by Eurofound's new report In-work poverty in the EU, published in Dublin today.

In-work poverty in the EU examines what it means for workers to be poor in the 21st century and looks at the ramifications of poverty for workers. Being among the working poor is associated with various social problems, including lower levels of subjective and mental well-being, problems with accommodation and living environment, poor relationships, and feelings of social exclusion.

The report builds on mounting evidence to show that in-work poverty represents a significant challenge for Europe, particularly in the context of the post-crisis labour market. Not only has the number of workers at risk of poverty in Europe increased in many Member States between 2007 and 2014, there is also a strong connection between contract types and in-work poverty: just 5% of full-time workers qualified as working poor, whereas 29% of involuntary part-time workers were working poor and 25% of self-employed workers without employees were working poor. It is important that these workers have the same rights and access to social protection that are accorded to workers with standard contracts.

The report found that while an adequate minimum wage is a core pillar of any model of social protection for the working poor, increased attention should be paid to minimum household income to reflect more accurately the situation of many of the working poor. Considering the risks that temporary workers face during spells of unemployment, measures are needed to facilitate transitions between jobs and to provide financial support while workers are in this position.

Finally, the report identifies the need to provide indirect help to raise the living standards of vulnerable workers; this requires a better understanding of the effectiveness of different kinds of indirect measures on the levels and impact of in-work poverty, as well as a concerted policy approach.

The graph above highlights the importance of education, indicating that in all EU countries except Finland, the at-risk-of-poverty rate is highest among people with the lowest level of education. The differences on the basis of education are largest in Romania, where 52% of those with primary education only are at risk of in-work poverty, compared with just 1% of those who have completed tertiary education.

ABC Note: 

The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) provides research-based findings and knowledge to help develop social and work-related policies. The ultimate aim is to help plan and design better living and working conditions in Europe.

'Work hard at school, because if you don't you will be working hard when you leave', the old adage goes.

The full report is below: