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MP Laura Pidock has been set a huge challenge by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

As the new Shadow Minister for Labour, her role is to find ways of fixing the changing jobs market so that workers are treated fairly and enjoy a decent standard of living.

People in traditional jobs know that if they’re forced to take a day off sick then they’ll still be paid.

If they’re made redundant then they’re probably entitled to some money, at least if they’ve been with an employer for two years.

And they have a pretty good idea how many hours they’re expected to work each week.

But times are changing. In the so-called gig economy, workers might find they are classed as self-employed contractors with few legal rights.

And people move employers more frequently than before.

Today’s college or university leavers can have 30 different jobs before they retire.

Ms Pidcock, the MP for North West Durham, says there’s no point trying to turn back the clock. Changes are driven partly by technology, which has allowed firms such as Uber to thrive, and that isn’t going to go away.

She said: “Technology isn’t a bad thing - as long as the people within those technological advancements are able to live a really good life.”

But Labour needs to work out how to make that good life possible.

“We have to look at what the modern world of work looks like.

“And unfortunately at the moment work is short term, it is insecure, it is low paid. People have three, four jobs that still don’t necessarily pay enough to have a very good life.

“Do we as a Labour Party, as a Ministry for Labour, just accept that? Or do we fight for much better standards?”

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

It’s a rhetorical question, of course. Ms Pidcock won’t be working alone, and her immediate boss is Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

But it’s a big role for someone so new to the House of Commons.

Ms Pidcock became an MP only last year, in the June 2017 general election, and quickly made a name for herself as an outspoken Corbynite MP.

She’s also relatively young for an MP, at the age of 30, but believes this might help her understand what life is like for many younger workers.

Ms Pidcock said: “It’s a very exciting role, especially in today’s labour market where it’s markedly different from 30 years ago.

“I understand the world of work because just seven months ago I was in it.”

Workplaces are increasingly likely to be “unorganised”, meaning there is no recognised trade union representation.

“Unorganised workplaces are the norm now. Workplaces where people don’t necessarily expect very much by way of rights and freedoms when it comes to organising, or really know what to demand in terms of terms and conditions.”

But Ms Pidcock believes unions must play a role in developing Labour policy.

“We have to work hand in hand with industry experts. Those experts, because they have a vested interest if you like, are the trade union movement.”

Changes in today’s workplaces and the economy generally have been called the “fourth industrial revolution” by some experts.

The idea is that the upheaval is as significant as previous industrial revolutions, including the use of water and steam power to mechanize production in the 18th and early 19th centuries; the use of electric power to create mass production, and the introduction of computers.

Now, we’re facing changes bought about by the introduction of robots, artificial intelligence and technology including smart-phones which mean people are connected to employers in new ways.

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According to Ms Pidcock, the response has to involve the whole of Labour’s shadow team - and, if it wins an election, of a future government.

She said: “It’s intertwined with every other department in government.

“You can’t meet the new world of work without a whole generation of people who are skilled and trained.

“So you have to put investment into education and apprenticeships, for example.”

People in many parts of the North East could once rely on steady and secure employment thanks to the mining industry.

While the pits will never re-open, working people are still entitled to secure jobs, says Ms Pidcock.

“There were so many positives for that world of work, because it was one job and it was secure and it was really well organised.

“So we can borrow the principles of older industries for today, but have to adapt them.

“Because those young people going out into the world of work today, they’re meeting so many challenges, They might have 15 to 30 jobs in their lifetime.

“And that’s a completely different environment.”