James I don't think the owners of small businesses run well have anything to fear. But not all businesses/ companies follow a moral compass and share your sense of ethical values. We can't continue ignoring the likes of Starbucks and Amazon with their clever accountants, and HSBC helping them to exploit tax dodging schemes. And then we have the millions of recruitment agency employees, many on the minimum wage with agencies milking off £2, £3 and sometimes £4 and over an hour from them. Most of the agencies contract out the payroll service to umbrella companies and the employees are then forced to pay these companies to pay them. Thousands if not millions of these agency workers are working alongside company employees doing the same job for far less money and nothing like the same working conditions. And the law whereby such companies are compelled to offer the agency workers the same contracts as their own employees after 12 weeks is meaningless in most sectors, because the agency workers are simply made redundant and new staff employed under the same arrangement. Zero hours contracts? Offer zero and expect zero in return. How can any employee feel valued or plan for the future on Zero hours contracts? Now we will see under 25s discriminated against in the workplace as they are exempt from the minimum wage, Ordinary workers won't unite behind a government which is hell bent on creating a 'us and them' attitude in the workplace. At a time when industrial disputes are historically low, what does the government do? It attacks the unions. We must not forget that we elect our politicians to represent us first and foremost, not business. Corbyn or not, if we continue to ignore basic justice and fairness in the workplace there is huge trouble ahead.
