Labour Party Proposes a Ministry for Employment Rights
Alan Kitto
The Labour Party is today announcing plans to create a Ministry for Employment Rights, along with a Workers' Protection Agency to enforce those rights, in what would be substantial repositioning of employment and trade union law.
The proposals for individual employment rights include:-
fixing the problem of different categories of workers with different rights by creating a single status of ‘worker’ for everyone apart from those genuinely self-employed
ending the “Swedish derogation” which permits employers to pay agency workers less than regular staff for the same work
the introduction of a civil enforcement system to ensure compliance with gender pay auditing
giving all workers the right to seek flexible working, and placing a duty on the employer to accommodate the request
a statutory Real Living Wage of £10 per hour by 2020 for all workers aged 16 or over
banning unpaid internships
banning zero hours contracts by requiring employers to give all workers a contract that accurately reflects their fixed and regular hours
The proposals for collective rights include:-
making it easier for workers to have their say at work, including allowing electronic and workplace ballots
giving trade unions the right of entry to workplaces to organise members and to meet and represent their members
banning anti-union practice and the strengthening of protection of trade union representatives against unfair dismissal
repealing the Trade Union Act 2016 in its entirety
Obviously Labour have to be elected and form a government before any of these proposals can be brought into law.