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Gig workers doubled in three years

THE number of workers on zero-hours contracts in the so-called “gig economy” has doubled in the last three years, new research reveals.

Almost one in 10 workers is now on an insecure work “contract” compared to one in 20 in 2016.

The joint research project was supported by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and carried out by the University of Hertfordshire and pollsters Ipsos Mori.

Under zero-hours contracts workers are called on to work when needed and laid off unpaid when not needed.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The explosion of the gig economy shows that working people are battling to make ends meet.”

Ursula Huws, professor of labour and globalisation at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “These results underline how important it is to tackle low pay and precariousness.

“But they also suggest that we need a new deal to provide basic rights for all workers in the digital age.”

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