Post by Patrick Torsney on Feb 17, 2011 14:11:59 GMT 1
Barely making ends meet in the flexible labour market
John Harris meets low-paid and insecure workers in Swansea and London caught in a 'race to the bottom', and hears about the rise of the 'precariat'
You can watch the original at the Guardian, here:
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/feb/16/precariat-flexible-labour-market-video?CMP=twt_gu
The reason we have brought this film into MyLegal is that we think it is important to understand the provision of legal aid services in the context of the society that we live in
One of the key points of the film is how precarious the situation is, including for those who are currently in reasonably paid employment but who may at some point lose their job given the current financial and economic climate
Should anyone in this situation then need legally aided assistance, the situation becomes even more bleak. For example, and assuming the legal aid reforms come in as the current Government wants, most if not all of the low paid workers featured in this film would no longer in future be able to access legal aid to assist them with things like employment problems (eg unfair dismissal, illegal deduction of wages) or welfare benefits problems (eg being refused benefits, being struck off benefits inappropriately)
Is this the end of the proletariat as we know it, and the rise of the precariat? 'Rise' is probably not the right word
John Harris meets low-paid and insecure workers in Swansea and London caught in a 'race to the bottom', and hears about the rise of the 'precariat'
You can watch the original at the Guardian, here:
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/feb/16/precariat-flexible-labour-market-video?CMP=twt_gu
The reason we have brought this film into MyLegal is that we think it is important to understand the provision of legal aid services in the context of the society that we live in
One of the key points of the film is how precarious the situation is, including for those who are currently in reasonably paid employment but who may at some point lose their job given the current financial and economic climate
Should anyone in this situation then need legally aided assistance, the situation becomes even more bleak. For example, and assuming the legal aid reforms come in as the current Government wants, most if not all of the low paid workers featured in this film would no longer in future be able to access legal aid to assist them with things like employment problems (eg unfair dismissal, illegal deduction of wages) or welfare benefits problems (eg being refused benefits, being struck off benefits inappropriately)
Is this the end of the proletariat as we know it, and the rise of the precariat? 'Rise' is probably not the right word