Christmas is brought to us on the back of worker exploitation

The strivers in retail are as wretched and exploited as those in the care and service sectors, on farms and in factories

Consumers flood the shops on Oxford Street, London (Getty)

Lucy Allan has been burnt by online flamethrowers after some of her aides accused the Tory MP of being a bully and making them “feel inadequate”. When one of them wanted time off to see her terminally ill grandfather, Allan allegedly replied: “I don’t give a shit.” At the weekend, more such grievances were aired by named and unnamed sources.

This month, Mike Ashley, billionaire boss of Sports Direct, also found himself in the spotlight after an undercover investigation brought to light how his exhausted workers were underpaid and terrorised by the company. A BBC investigation in October revealed that employees who were ill were too scared to take time off. At one depot, paramedics had been called out to attend staff 76 times over a two-year period. The media, union members, web vigilantes and MPs have all damned the abrasive Ashley, who denied the allegations and is now heading a review of agency-worker terms and conditions.

But these two just got unlucky; some celestial forces led popular ire to their door. Throughout history people have vented their furies on chosen individuals, whether they were witches, adulterers, sinners, paedophiles or deserters. Both tribes and larger societies feel cleansed after these punitive, diverting, intoxicating dramas, but the bad stuff that got them worked up in the first place goes on after the orgy of rage has come and gone. Sometimes it even gets worse. Does anyone seriously believe that no other MPs treat their teams as badly as Allan allegedly does? Or that Ashley is a particularly hideous capitalist? That these two are simply bad fairies in a world full of lovely, charming, caring politicians, royals, journalists and businessmen? The truth is that Allan (if her accusers are telling the truth) and Ashley are archetypes: representatives of contemporary Britain. More people are becoming selfish, greedy and anti-social. Admittedly, some still hold on to the values of kindness and generosity but they are an endangered species.

The gods of consumerism have vanquished Jesus, painting adverts and mean graffiti over his messages. Christianity has fallen before these forces. And too many of us on the left have rolled over and no longer think too deeply about the massive social and economic shifts that have come with this. We go shopping instead. That may be the most irreversible change of all.

I was ill for several weeks, then felt low and tired through most of December, so I am now rushing around buying, buying, buying for Christmas. Like most migrants, I have learnt to love the festival but I hate how it is now almost all about presents. Still, in the name of integration, I join in with the rest of the madding crowd. In a vast mall last Friday, at 8.30pm, in a reputable, high-end shoe shop, a sweet, exhausted-looking Italian assistant was helping me. She would be there till 11pm, she said, back again the next day and then working up to midnight until Christmas Eve. Back again at 8am on Boxing Day. Will they get overtime? I asked. She didn’t know what the word meant. It turns out that the staff would get no extra money at all. Her manager came up to me because he recognised me, and said: “You should write about this new cheap labour. But please don’t name the shop or the place. I agree, we are really suffering and nobody cares. All I want for Christmas is sleep.”

In another shop, we heard one assistant consoling another who was in tears: “Look, it is not about you. Managers come and shout at all of us because they want us to be scared so we work harder.” In the toilets some customers were shouting at the young Romanian cleaner because she was cleaning while women and children rushed in and out. I thanked her and apologised on behalf of the ignoramuses who were making a tough job unbearable. Do these workers not celebrate Christmas? Are they just worker bees without rights, joy, family life or dreams?

Supermarkets this week will stay open until midnight in some places just to squeeze more out of their workers and our purses. The most successful cheapo outlets must pay suppliers and workers abysmally. Numerous complaints have been made about working conditions at Lidl. One manager told a newspaper he’d had to work 75 hours a week and sign away his rights under European law. The company denies any wrongdoing. The stories keep on coming but the company just keeps getting more popular. Even the middle and upper classes turn up now, seeking out low-priced lobsters and Prosecco.

Remember the Tories and their slogans about the “skivers” and the “strivers”? Well look what is happening to the wretched, exploited strivers working in retail. It’s the same as is happening to agency workers in the care sector, to farm and factory workers and those toiling away in service industries. Trade unions have been castrated and can now only yell impotently. So, yes, Mr Osborne, employment is rising fast but men and women are doing the sort of jobs that make them feel subhuman. That is why productivity is so low in the UK.

Many right-wing politicians and business people want us to get out of Europe because the EU gives workers a degree of protection, a fair deal and some respect. This government is determined not only to slash all state safety nets but to also make Britain into a mini United States, where workers get few holidays or basic employment rights and citizens pay for their own healthcare or die. That is the big Tory idea. They don’t put the details in their manifesto but, by stealth, European social democracy is being pushed out in favour of American social Darwinism. Is that what you want? Think about it while you spend, spend, spend over the next few days.