Young factory worker and engineering student
In my uni degree, engineering, it is almost imperative to get a work placement while studying, as the number of post-grad jobs are extremely competitive.
I was lucky to get a paid placement this year. But entering the world of work has been eye-opening.
When I say ‘paid placement’, I’m on the minimum wage I can be legally paid, with the minimum number of holidays I can be legally be given, and with little-to-no benefits.
In my role, I work independently, my responsibilities impact the business, and I am relied upon in some situations. The experience is great. However, this sense of being relied upon, leaves me feeling that my labour is being used.
Cheaper labour, of course, helps the business make more money. The managing director is on a £350,000 salary, whilst workers have not had a pay rise, or much of a bonus, in the last 12 months. It feels unjust.
An example of the lesser treatment of younger, placement employees, is that we were never issued work phones. We have to be on our feet, keeping facilities running. Not being able to use anything but our personal phones to make notes, take photos, communicate, or anything, impacts our ability to do the job.
The predecessor in my role brought this up in their exit interview. But this was not moved forward after being raised. The excuse was costs, of course.
So to save the company a few hundred quid, we would have to suffer not being able to keep up to date with elements of the job, meetings, communication, either tied to our desks, or forced to hand over our personal mobile number to work colleagues.
Other placement students and I challenged this at a quarterly ‘town hall’ meeting. We could write in questions anonymously, or with our names, that would be put to the HR (human resources) and management team.
We kept this anonymous. It was obvious it came from students. But we didn’t want to risk anything at all individually in the jobs we have or could be offered in the future, as we know how difficult it will be anyway, it is important not to limit chances.
The question was put forward. Management agreed that students should have work phones.
We did have to ask for an update, as no more was communicated to us after the town hall. Since then, this has gone forward, and we are waiting on new work phones to be issued.
This shows the struggles of young workers, or a student, trying to get by, whilst the cost of even living is so high, and the system is using us as cheap labour. And the need to get properly organised in trade unions that fight for us.
