Lib Dem MP Mike Crockart was rebuked by a leading trade unionist yesterday when he suggested that some people like working on zero-hours contracts.

In a clash at at parliamentary committee hearing, rail union RMT assistant general secretary Mick Cash accused the MP of ignoring crude cost-cutting and threats to safety.

Even if a zero-hours contract appeared to suit certain individuals, “it doesn’t make it right and it doesn’t make it safe,” Mr Cash told Mr Crockart.

Mr Cash told the Scottish affairs select committee that casualised labour was widespread in the rail industry as a result of privatisation, with over 60,000 people working indirectly for Network Rail.

Committee chairman Ian Davidson called for detailed examples of zero-hours abuses, after hearing evidence that the pernicious practice is widespread across agriculture, construction and retail industries.

Unite the union Scotland chairman Scot Walker condemned major supermarket chains which presented themselves as ethical retailers and yet took supplies from firms using casualisation and zero-hours contracts on a “huge” scale.

In the fruit-picking industry, it was common for workers to be bussed to a site and then wait for hours unpaid to see if they might have a few hours’ work.

Mr Davidson reported that his committee’s investigations into zero-hours contracts had already revealed “examples of terrible practice.

“We have heard of people being texted to come into work in the morning only to be turned away when they get there, losing their travel costs.

“The types of business using these contracts are remarkably widespread, from major leisure and service brands, to the social care sector, the Tate galleries and even Buckingham Palace.”