Sir, – Well done to Fintan O'Toole on his summation of the attitude of Dunnes Stores to both its workers and customers in its embracing of the immoral zero-hour contracts regime that has become so obscenely prevalent within a few short years ("Dunnes policy an assault on dignity of working people", Opinion & Analysis, April 7th).
Dunnes Stores could be deemed a high-profile offender but, regrettably, this zero-hour contract practice has become increasingly rampant – for example, only last month the Scottish Trade Union Congress estimated that as many as 100,00 Scots could be working under such conditions – and the very concept would have been deemed unthinkable even 20 years ago.
It goes without saying that the conditions created by this type of greed-led regime are immensely damaging to the fabric of society. However, let’s not forget that capitalism, as an economic system, has neither morals nor conscience. I believe this trend will, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better but every tide turns and, just as the move to neo-liberalism at the end of the 1970s came about on foot of a prolonged period of union unrest and agitation, a shift to a reorganisation of labour will inevitably become necessary once again as quality of life deteriorates to an extent precipitating a refocus on a more reasonable division of the spoils. – Yours, etc,
JD MANGAN,
Stillorgan,
Co Dublin.