There is an extraordinary story in both the Independent and the Sun. The suggestion is that the workers hired to clean up Glastonbury, after the attendees had all gone back to Hoxton or the large house owned by their parents in the Surrey Hills, are unhappy. A large number of foreign workers are bussed in each year to pick up all the rubbish. This year was less work than expected, it is claimed, and the workers (many foreign) were sent home early. Complaints have been made they were short-changed.
This story simply cannot be true. I have emailed the Glastonbury press office to check but have so far had no response.
But it’s unthinkable, surely. Michael Eavis and Jeremy Corbyn wouldn’t pose on stage, heralding a revolution in thinking, celebrating the return of socialism and the collapse of capitalism in front of an impressionable audience, knowing that the workers doing the cleaning were on zero hours contracts. There must have been some sort of honest mistake.
Ah, several Corbyn fans, pointed out on Twitter (St Jeremy being never wrong, like Comrade Stalin), this was the obvious way to pay these workers, when the amount of work was unknown when they signed up. Otherwise they would get paid more than they earned. Indeed, perhaps it is the same for lots of other companies that use temporary workers in less fashionable parts of the economy. Just a thought.
What other way could it be done? asked another sceptic.
How about hiring the workers for a set number of days and then paying overtime when there are extra days to do. Wouldn’t this be more in keeping with the saintly Corbyn “up the workers” mantra? Or is it too expensive for Glastonbury.
No. It must all be some kind of misunderstanding. Nothing like a zero hours contract or similar would ever be used at Glastonbury. Just wait until Jeremy and Michael Eavis find out. They’ll be furious.
