UK

Unite union says Labour’s workers’ bill has ‘more holes than Swiss cheese’ over zero-hour contracts

Millie Cooke
Thu 10 October 2024 

Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham and Keir Starmer, who has been urged to push the reforms further (PA)

Labour’s new workers’ rights legislation is under fire, with one union boss claiming the proposal has “more holes than Swiss cheese”.

While others have hailed the Employment Rights Bill as bringing a “seismic shift” for workers, Sir Keir Starmer has still been urged to go further in his bid to shift the balance of power between employers and employees.

The legislation has been described by Labour as the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation and was published on Thursday. It will include plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and “unscrupulous” fire and rehire practices which it said will benefit millions of workers.

Fire Brigade Union general secretary Matt Wrack welcomes the planned employment Bill (PA)


Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said: “This is a pro-worker, pro-business plan. The government will tackle head-on the issues within the UK labour market that are holding Britain back.

Unite has responded most critically to the legislation, accusing the government of tying itself “up in knots trying to avoid what was promised”.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “This Bill is without doubt a significant step forward for workers but stops short of making work pay.

“The end to draconian laws like Minimum Service Levels and the introduction of new individual rights, for example on bereavement leave, will be beneficial. But the Bill still ties itself up in knots trying to avoid what was promised.

“Failure to end fire and rehire and zero-hours contracts once and for all will leave more holes than Swiss cheese that hostile employers will use.”

While the Bill will give workers the right to a contract reflecting the number of hours they regularly work, it leaves room for employees who want zero-hours contracts to opt in.

Promising to push for improvements to the legislation as the bill goes through parliament, she added: “The Bill also fails to give workers the sort of meaningful rights to access a union for pay bargaining that would put more money in their pockets and, in turn, would aid growth.”

But Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said the legislation will “improve working lives for many” if delivered in full.

“After 14 years of stagnating living standards, working people desperately need secure jobs they can build a decent life on”, Mr Nowak said.

“Driving up employment standards is good for workers, good for business and good for growth. It will give workers more predictability and control and it will stop good employers from being undercut by the bad.

“While there is still detail to be worked through, this Bill signals a seismic shift away from the Tories’ low pay, low rights, low productivity economy.”

Business groups welcomed the Bill, with the CBI praising the government for engaging with business and unions. The Federation of Small Businesses was the only main business group critical of the Bill, saying: “This legislation is a rushed job, clumsy, chaotic and poorly planned – dropping 28 new measures onto small business employers all at once leaves them scrambling to make sense of it all.”

Ministers described the Employment Rights Bill as the biggest boost to pay and productivity in the workplace in a generation.

Under the new legislation, the existing two-year qualifying period for protections from unfair dismissal will be removed and workers will have the right from the first day in a job.

Former TUC president Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, told The Independent that the workers’ rights reforms will “shift the balance of power in Britain back towards workers”, saying lives will be “immeasurably improved” by the legislation.

Mr Wrack urged the government to implement the “hugely welcome” legislation without delay.

He said: “This very significant extension of workers’ rights is a huge victory for the FBU and other unions that have been at the forefront of campaigning to ensure that Labour’s New Deal for Working People is fully delivered.

“The banning of zero-hour contracts, the outlawing of fire and rehire, and other despicable working practices promoted by the Tories, are long overdue.”

However, many of the reforms will not take effect until autumn 2026, with ministers scheduling a series of consultations on the details of the plan over the course of 2025.

Some measures, such as the right to “switch off” at the end of a working day, are not in the Bill but will be included in a so-called next steps document for further consideration and consultation.

The government said the legislation is being unveiled against a backdrop of it inheriting a “battered” economy from the Conservatives.

More than twice as many days were lost to industrial action than France under Rishi Sunak’s premiership, said Labour, following more than two years of strikes by hundreds of thousands of workers including nurses, teachers, junior doctors, train drivers and barristers.

Labour said new analysis showed that the Tories’ “scorched-earth” approach to strikes over the last two years cost the economy £3.3bn in lost productivity, including £1.7bn from NHS industrial action alone.

New UK government closes in on major employment reform

Clément ZAMPA
Thu 10 October 2024 

The UK government says its new workers' rights bill will offer more protection for employees (HENRY NICHOLLS) (HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP/AFP)


Britain's new Labour government on Thursday took a key step towards delivering major reforms to workers' rights with the presentation of its employment bill to parliament, pitting unions against businesses.

The bill contains key pre-election pledges, including a ban on zero-hours contracts, improvements to sick and maternity pay, and measures aimed at making it harder for employers to sack staff.

Other proposals are for increased flexibility around working hours and greater protection against sexual harassment in the workplace.

The proposed shakeup to employment legislation comes almost 100 days after Keir Starmer became prime minister following his Labour party's landslide general election win.

- 'generational upgrade' -

"This is a comprehensive bill which, once implemented, will represent the biggest upgrade in employment rights for a generation," Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement Thursday.

"It will raise the minimum floor of employment rights, raise living standards across the country and provide better support for those businesses who are engaged in good practices."

Since winning power in early July, Labour has acted swiftly to end drawn-out strikes by public- and private-sector workers over pay -- notably among doctors in Britain's free National Health Service.

"The Employment Rights Bill will ensure work pays, it'll forge a new partnership with business, and reset the dreadful industrial relations that have cost our economy and our NHS so much in recent years," Starmer told parliament Wednesday.

Paul Nowak, leader of British umbrella organisation the Trades Union Congress, said a fully delivered bill "will make work better for millions of working people".

"Increasing job security is good for workers and business. Treating staff well boosts productivity and living standards," he said on the eve of the paper's unveiling.

But the main opposition Conservatives have warned the proposals amount to business-constricting "French-style union laws".

Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, warned that "adding to the risks and costs associated with employing people would make small employers think twice about whether and who to hire".

"Done wrongly, this bill could damage growth, wages and jobs," added McKenzie, whose organisation represents millions of UK businesses.

However business lobby group CBI said the "government deserves credit for its willingness to engage with businesses and unions".

"With a number of critical details still subject to consultation, it’s important the government builds on the good engagement to date to ensure we get the detail right on this decisive piece of legislation," added its chief executive Rain Newton-Smith.

The bill's publication comes ahead of Labour's maiden budget on October 30, when finance minister Rachel Reeves is widely expected to announce tax rises.

Labour says tough measures are needed and claims that the Conservatives left it with a financial hole totalling £22 billion ($29 billion) after the election defeat ended their party's 14 years in power.


Starmer bids to end Tory ‘scorched earth’ industrial relations policy with workers’ rights reset

David Maddox
Wed 9 October 2024 

Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan, centre, has described the government’s pay offer as good and fair (PA)


Union chiefs have hailed workers’ rights reforms unveiled by Keir Starmer’s government today for “changing the balance of power” in favour of employees and away from employers.

The long-awaited package to unpick Tory anti-union legislation has been unveiled less than 24 hours after the Renters’ Rights Bill passed its second reading in the Commons.

Experts also hailed that legislation as handing power to tenants and away from landlords as Labour pushed through a revolution to protect the rights of millions of people in the UK.

The dual reforms, which aim to end exploitation in the UK, come in a week when Sir Keir has sought to put behind him the rows about freebies and his former chief of staff Sue Gray by taking a grip on the political agenda with a new top team around him led by Morgan McSweeney.

The workers’ rights reforms will see an end to exploitative contracts and fire-and-rehire practices while also including the repeal of anti-strike laws put in place by successive Tory governments.

Meanwhile, the renters’ reforms end the practice of no-fault evictions and protect the rights of people to stay in their homes.

Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (PA Wire)

Former TUC president Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, told The Independent that the workers’ rights reforms “shift the balance of power in Britain back towards workers”.

He said: “This very significant extension of workers’ rights is a huge victory for the FBU and other unions that have been at the forefront of campaigning to ensure that Labour’s New Deal for Working People is fully delivered.

“The banning of zero-hour contracts, the outlawing of fire and rehire, and other despicable working practices promoted by the Tories, are long overdue.

“The lives of firefighters and other public sector workers will be immeasurably improved by the new rights to bereavement leave and parental leave from day one of employment. The leadership of the FBU has long fought for an irreversible shift towards extending the rights of working people.

“There must be no delay in the full implementation of this hugely welcome package. That must also be reflected in pay offers to firefighters and other public sector workers in the Budget later this month.”

The government said its Employment Rights Bill is being unveiled against a backdrop of it inheriting a ‘battered’ economy (Lucy North/PA Wire)

The plan is aimed at kickstarting workplace productivity ahead of the International Investment Summit.

Labour will say the Tories’ “strike Britain” failure meant the UK lost twice as many working days as France due to industrial action.

The government will also link the plan to its economic growth agenda.

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner MP, who has pushed hard for the Starmer government to keep its promise to trade unions, said: “This Labour government’s plan to make work pay is central to achieving our growth mission, boosting productivity. After years of stagnation under the Tories, we’re replacing a race to the bottom with a race to the top, so employers compete on innovation and quality.

“It’s by making work more secure and modernising workplaces that we will drive up productivity, improve living standards, generate jobs and investment, and pave the way for sustained economic growth that benefits working people.

“We’re calling time on the Tories’ scorched earth approach to industrial relations. A new partnership of cooperation between trade unions, employers and government will put us in line with high-growth economies that benefit from more cooperation and less disruption.”

Commenting on the renters’ reform legislation, Lawhive’s head of legal operations, Daniel McAfee, said: “The ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, which would abolish Section 21 evictions, fundamentally alters the balance of power between landlords and tenants.”

Conservative shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “Despite a chorus of opposition and the fastest decline in confidence from business owners large and small on record, Labour are rushing this legislation through parliament to appease their trade union paymasters, ignoring the inevitable negative economic impact on jobs and wages.

“This is a thinly veiled reward for the trade unions after they donated £28 million to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party.

“We will look closely at the detail of what the Labour Party have set out. But businesses and the economy needs certainty not the threat of being sent back to the 1970s, unleashing waves of low threshold, zero warning strikes, driving down growth and slowing productivity.”