“The obscenity of the system is made possible by the dramatically diminished bargaining power of #labour. Weak labour is #CheapLabour. More lucratively, the world’s workers can increasingly be mobilised according to #employers’ precise needs, so not a penny is wasted. The purpose is to transform the #HumanWorker into a machine that can be switched off when not in use (although at least machines are tended with maintenance). In 2020, #Amazon’s UK sales soared by half to £19.4bn. In 2021, an investigation in Britain found that the company was bypassing its own #employment standards by hiring thousands of zero-hours workers through #agencies.” — #NesrineMalik

Zero-hour workers.

#corporate / #economics <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/23/system-rigged-inequality-pandemic-despair-super-rich>