Nurses warn corbyn's zero-hour contracts ban would affect nhs workers

Speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC, semi-retired nurse Hugh, from Birmingham, claimed thousands of NHS workers like him are on zero-hours contracts by choice and the NHS could not

"function" without them. He said: “I have a zero-hour contract with the NHS and I choose when I want to work - and there’s always work available at the NHS. I’ve also got the

option, should I choose, to apply for a permanent contract. I choose not to, I prefer the zero-hour contract because that gives me the flexibility to do what I want to do when I want to do

it. I know tens of thousands of people like me. If you were to ban those contracts I really don’t know how the NHS could function. “So many of us are on them. Even though there are people

employed by the NHS on contracts, a substantial number of them also have a zero-hour contract so they can do extra work if they so choose.” Echoing Hugh's concerns, health care worker

Kim from Bishop's Stortford also warned the NHS would be "on its knees" without its fair share of workers on zero-hour contracts.  She told Nick Ferrari: “I’ve worked in

health care for 43 years. Most hospital work on 70 percent contracts to 30 percent zero-hour contracts. “And as your previous caller said we can pick and choose when we work. “Those

contracts allow that flexibility. There is such a lot of rhetoric about zero-hour contracts being bad but the NHS and probably care-homes would be on its knees without its zero-hours bank

workers.” READ MORE: FURIOUS CALLER LAMBASTS 'DISGUSTING' MPS OVER BREXIT THWARTING PLANS  On Tuesday, Jeremy Corbyn promised to put power "in the hands of workers" under

plans for a big expansion of employment rights. He announced that a Labour Government would establish a Ministry for Employment Rights, saying it would herald the biggest extension of

rights for workers ever seen in the UK. Mr Corbyn said a Labour government would transform people's lives, starting in the workplace. Labour would also appoint a Secretary of State for

Employment Rights, and a Workers' Protection Agency to enforce rights, standards and protections so that every job is a "good job". Workers would also be offered security,

dignity, fair pay and rights in the workplace under minimum standards set through collective bargaining, said the Labour leader. He also repeated Labour's pledge to repeal the 2016

Trade Union Act and announced that unions will have the right to organise members in workplaces as well as having extra protection for union representatives facing unfair dismissal. Labour

would introduce a statutory Real Living Wage of £10 an hour by 2020 for all workers aged 16 or over, ban unpaid internships and end zero-hours contracts by requiring employers to give all

workers a contract that accurately reflects their fixed and regular hours. Mr Corbyn said: "The next Labour Government will bring about the biggest extension of rights for workers that

our country has ever seen. We will put power in the hands of workers. "For 40 years, the share of the cake going to workers has been getting smaller and smaller. It's no

coincidence that the same period has seen a sustained attack on the organisations that represent workers - trade unions. "We have witnessed a deliberate, decades-long transfer of power

away from working people. The consequences are stark for all workers, whether members of a trade union or not. Pay is lower than it was a decade ago in real terms. DON'T MISS: CORBYN

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HIGHEST BILL [INSIGHT] "Labour is on the side of the people in the real battle against the born-to-rule establishment that (Boris) Johnson represents. We stand for the interests of the

many - the overwhelming majority who do the work and pay their taxes - not the few at the top who hoard the wealth and dodge their taxes. "It's Labour's historic mission to

transform people's lives, and that transformation begins in the workplace. "Rights only mean anything if they're enforced. Too many employers are getting away with flouting

laws. Nearly half a million people are still being paid less than the minimum wage. "We'll put a stop to that. We'll create a Workers Protection Agency with the power to enter

workplaces and bring prosecutions on workers' behalf. "If you're a worker with a boss who makes you work extra hours for no pay or forces you into dangerous situations, you

deserve a government that's on your side and ready to step in to support you."