A day in the life of an agency worker


Insecurity and exploitation

An agency worker

I wake up at 5.30am, throw on the uniform I spent my last pay cheque buying, leave at 6am to arrive at the pick up at 6.30am. If I’m late I risk losing not just one shift, but all future ones.

When I get there I’m informed that I won’t be getting the three hours travel pay I was promised for the six hours travelling. Staff hang around, sharing stories of missing pay and 19 hour shifts. We wait for the coach – fortunately only 20 minutes – far less than the hour and a half last time. We finally leave at 7.10am for the three hour journey.

We arrive and it’s work on a bar, not the waiting shift I was told about. Still, I learn quickly and keep up till a 20 minute break after seven hours where we are treated to a hot meal. I lose the first five minutes finishing up and rush to the dinner queue. By the time I sit down I have five minutes to eat the food as fast as possible and get back to my workstation. Still, only a few hours left.

At 6.25pm I’m signed off as 6.15pm. I grab my stuff and go to the coach where we wait for all the staff to finish their shifts. Now I have access to my phone I spend the time applying for as many shifts as I can for tomorrow.

Finally at 8pm we set off for the three hour journey back.

Youth Fight for Jobs demands:

  • Pay us enough to live on
  • Give us proper contracts
  • Decent tea and lunch breaks
  • Stop the bosses’ fire-at-will attitude
  • Build democratic campaigning trade unions
  • See www.youthfightforjobs.com