Jeremy Corbyn could boycott Glastonbury over use of zero hours contracts
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn could boycott the Glastonbury festival in future over its use of migrant labour on zero hours contracts.
A senior source close to the Labour leader repeatedly refused to confirm that he would return to the music event - where he received a hero's welcome last month - if it continued to use the controversial employment practice.
It has emerged that Glastonbury organisers employed European workers on zero hours contracts to clear the site following the five-day festival. They were then sacked after the clean-up operation was over.
Asked about his views on the affair, the Corbyn source said: "Jeremy and the Labour party have taken a very strong stand against the use of zero hours contracts and the exploitation of migrant and other workers and the spread of all manner of insecure agency working and we would take that view wherever it happens."
When asked if Mr Corbyn would boycott the next Glastonbury festival in 2019, the senior source said: "Jeremy and the Labour party are committed strongly to a ban on zero hours contracts and opposing their use wherever they are imposed to undermine pay and conditions."
After being asked a second time, the source said: "We're clearly committed against the use of zero hours contracts."
He added: "Who knows what's going to happen next year at Glastonbury or any other time? We're completely opposed to those forms of contract.
"How Glastonbury runs its event and manages its finances is entirely a matter for them. In terms of employment contracts, those contracts should not be used.
"(Jeremy) would be happy to raise it right now - this kind of contract is unacceptable."
Mr Corbyn gave a speech at this year's event to tens of thousands of cheering supporters at the Pyramid Stage.
He said: "Politics is actually about everyday life. It’s about all of us: what we dream, what we want, what we achieve and what we want for everybody else.
"The commentariat got it wrong, the elites got it wrong. Politics is about the lives of all of us. The wonderful campaign I was a part of and led, brought people back to politics because they believed there was something on offer for them."
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