THOUSANDS of disabled trade unionists vowed yesterday to end the scandal of zero-hours contracts.

Delegates at the TUC disabled workers conference threw their backing behind a motion demanding the exploitative terms be scrapped and calling for full employment rights.

“These contracts are not contracts, they are diktats,” said National Union of Teachers delegate Allan Gray.

Mr Gray said the contracts took Britain back to Victorian times, with bosses squeezing profits out of their staff.

Zero-hours contracts “suit only selfish employers, they do not suit the workforce.”

A person with a zero-hours job has no idea whether they’ll be called in to work — and therefore no idea how much they’ll be paid.

Disabled people have been hit particularly hard, with extra expenses such as medicines and higher transport and living costs leaving workers even less able to handle the uncertainty of the jobs.

Physiotherapists’ union CSP delegate Saraka Keating emphasised how precarious job contracts cause added anxiousness and stress to people with disabilities.

“It plays havoc with your mental health,” agreed lecturers’ union UCU delegate Pat Roche.

The TUC has found that such exploitative terms have forced many disabled people out of work, relying on foodbanks and “legalised loan sharks” to survive.

“It’s unfair and it is wrong,” said Mr Gray, “and it’s not just about disabled workers, it’s about the entire workforce.”