Extract from second
reading debate (Lords) of the Financial Guidance and Claims
Bill
(Lab):...It is
very easy to get into debt, particularly if you work in
the Gig
economy or on a zero-hour contract or depend on
the state for tax refunds, with numerous organisations offering
loans to tide you over. Yes, much work has been done to regulate
them. However, as the noble Lord, , said, we found that much of this
lending happens online. New developments in artificial intelligence
and machine learning mean that quite often you are not actually
dealing with a human. Indeed, one bank now offers a low-cost
investment advice service to small savers based entirely on
artificial intelligence. That raises many questions, not only the
usual ones about ownership of the information and data, but
questions about confidentiality—how it is stored, processed,
manipulated and traded. Who is liable in these digital
transactions? That further emphasises the point made by the noble
Baroness, Lady Altmann, about the need to differentiate between
advice, information and guidance, especially when artificial
intelligence is involved. Clause 12 deals with the disclosure of
information, but not in that respect...
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Extracts from Westminster
Hall debate on Working Conditions in the Private Hire
Industry
(Birkenhead)
(Lab):...The second report, “Sweated Labour”, was on Uber,
and the third one, which will be published tomorrow, is “A new
contract for the Gig
economy”. I want to record in this debate that when Andrew
and I—it was very much Andrew—completed the first report, “Wild
West Workplace”, we wrote to the Prime Minister, and we said that
the circumstances that we had described had shocked me and my guess
was that they would shock her. They were certainly at variance with
her statement when she became Prime Minister about the sort of
society that she wished to create and the protections that she
wished to extend to those who were weakest.
If we look at any of the three reports—if people would like
copies of “A new contract for the Gig economy”, which is published tomorrow,
they can by all means have them—we see that four forces are
pushing down wages in this area. Let me explain what I am not
saying, and I hope the Minister will accept this. Nothing I have
ever said or published does not admit that Uber-type conditions
certainly serve a large part of consumers’ wishes for quick and
cheap transport, or that perhaps many Uber workers are very
content with their lot, as shovelled out by Uber under what I
think is a bogus self-employed contract. I am talking about
people who regularly write to Andrew and me, giving more examples
of how bogus the self-employed contract that they are forced to
work under is, and of the appalling conditions that those
employers get away with. As we know, they not only get away with
paying incredibly low wages to some workers; they do not pay
their fair share of taxes, so I would hope that the Chancellor of
the Exchequer would be on the Minister’s side. If we are
interested in VAT, national insurance and income tax returns, we
should be rather keen on what the Minister says today and what
the Taylor review will come up with, I hope, next week—perhaps
the Minister will be able to give us a date for its publication.
Wages have been pushed down for those who suffer worst in
this Gig
economy in four ways. The first is the very low
fares, which have been cut in recent years, which some people
think is great fun because they can get home cheaply. Second are
the high rates of commission demanded by the company, which now
vary clearly between newer workers trying to make a decent living
out of being a driver, and older drivers, who—thank God—are more
protected, although now that I have made that statement, perhaps
that image will be challenged by people who contact us after the
debate. Third is the cost of renting a vehicle that meets Uber’s
very strict requirements, and fourth is the cost of refuelling
and maintaining those vehicles. Those are the downward forces in
the economy that make it very difficult for people to make a
decent living and, indeed, as I shall argue, to make a living in
which they are covered by the statutory minimum wage...
(Nottingham South)
(Lab): ...I listened carefully to what the Minister said
about employment rights. Does he agree that because of the nature
of mobile applications, there can be a temptation for employees,
who feel under undue pressure, to work excessive hours? That can
have a severe and detrimental impact on not only their health and
wellbeing but, potentially, the health and wellbeing of other
road users.
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Mr John
Hayes): The hon. Lady is right. The relationship between
the app or Gig economy operators and their drivers is very
different from what we have experienced previously. She is right,
too, that that brings challenges and may even bring significant
risks. I do not want to say too much, because a legal case is
ongoing and the Taylor report, to which the right hon. Gentleman
referred, is also awaited...
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