PCG, the organisation representing the UK’s independent professionals, has defended the nation’s self-employed people after an attack on the sector by the TUC.
Chris Bryce, CEO of PCG said:
“The rise in self-employment is a long term phenomenon that has continued steadily over a number of years through both positive and negative economic periods. It is a structural change in the way we approach the concept of work, not a cyclical occurrence based on an unhealthy jobs market, as the TUC claim.
“Not only do self-employed people actively stimulate economic growth, research shows their work also creates the permanent jobs which the TUC purports to be fighting for. The boom in self-employment is at the heart of the UK’s economic recovery and for the TUC to blame it for the problems experienced by vulnerable workers is misguided and unhelpful.
“The way we work is changing and it does not help our economy for backward-looking bodies like the TUC to fight against this change. Vulnerable workers need to be protected, but to tar all self-employed people with the same brush will do nothing for those who really need the support of a trade union.”
According to Chris Bryce, far from being a sector where vulnerability and exploitation is the norm, self-employment is out-performing traditional work both financially and in terms of quality of life:
“Research conducted by PCG shows that daily rates for independent professionals have increased since 2011 – a stark contrast to the declining salaries of employees during that time. What’s more, a recent poll of PCG members found that freelancers are optimistic about their rates in the year ahead.
“Even though 80% of freelancers are happy with the amount they are paid, the benefits of being in business on your own account are not just financial. Our research shows that 90% of freelancers are happy with their choice to go it alone while 80% are happy with the control they have over their working life and the amount of hours they work.”