Jobs and pay at risk from no-deal Brexit, says TUC

• TUC calls for zero-hours contracts to be banned

Commenting on the publication today (Tuesday) of labour market figures showing that real wages are still worth 0.8% less than a decade ago and job vacancies falling, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:  

“With wages not yet recovered from the financial crisis, workers now face the risk of a new recession. And although full-time employment is up, the fall in vacancies is a worrying sign.

“A no-deal Brexit would shrink the economy, wipe out jobs and hold back pay. No responsible Prime Minister would ever consider causing that kind of crisis.

“The government must protect jobs and pay by ruling out a no-deal Brexit and putting urgent investment into public services to support growth.“

On the latest numbers of workers employed through zero-hours contracts which showed a rise of more than 100,000 since a year ago to 896,000 she added:  

“It’s no surprise zero-hours contracts are rising when ministers have failed to crack down on unfair employment practices. The government must ban zero-hours contracts so that all workers can have solid jobs with full workers’ rights.”