Labour Enhances Trade Union Powers With Changes to Employment Rights Bill – Guido Fawkes

Labour Enhances Trade Union Powers With Changes to Employment Rights Bill

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While everyone in SW1 is busy issuing a statement on JD Vance the government’s consultation response for its Employment Rights Bill has enhanced trade union powers and further punishes employers. Here are the key measures that will now come in via amendment:

• Agencies will be forced to offer workers a fixed-hours contract instead of zero hours.
• Parents given two weeks of bereavement leave after suffering a miscarriage before 24 weeks’ gestation. Already exists for after this point.
• Employers banned from bringing on workers prior to union recognition ballots. Unions claim that businesses ‘flood’ themselves to vote against them…
• ‘Streamlining the trade union recognition process.’ This is vague – there are rumours the requirement could be as low as 2% of employees seeking unionisation…
• ‘Fire and rehire’ protective period doubled from 90 to 180 days.
• Sick pay for those earning under £123 set at 80% of wages. Highest of three possible proposals…
• Fair Work Agency given extra powers including carrying out covert surveillance and intelligence and accessing communication data.
• New “fixed timeline for employers and trade unions to agree access arrangements for recognition purpose.“
• Requirement removed for unions to prove that an ‘unfair practice’ influenced voting behaviour in a ballot. No real details here either…
• Extending the unfair practice complaint timeframe from 24 hours to 5 days.
• Independent unions can apply for recognition “where an employer has voluntarily recognised a non-independent union following receipt of a formal request for voluntary recognition by the independent union.“
• Extension of trade union ‘access provisions’ which includes to digital spaces. The union official enters the company Slack chat…
• Ten-year ballot for trade union renewal vote for use of political funds removed. More cash to splash…
• “Simplify” information requirement for a strike ballot and notice to employers. So less information…
• Extension of the expiry of the mandate for strike action from six to 12 months. More strike mandates – unions laughing at this one…

The bill in its previous form was estimated to cost businesses £5 billion. There is no roll-back on day one protections and the “fire and rehire” ban, which businesses warned strongly against. They also warned against the extensive empowerment of the unions. Which has been enlarged in this latest stage…

Unions are celebrating while businesses express dismay at the enhancements to the bill. The Federation of Small Businesses points out “two thirds of small businesses are deciding that they’re not going to take on any future employees. About a third are saying they might reduce their workforce as a result of these changes… these will have really damaging effects and if the government wants the economy to grow they need small businesses on their side.” Just as Starmer claims SMEs will re-arm the nation…

Wonks aren’t happy either. Len Shackleton, Editorial and Research Fellow at the IEA and Professor of Economics at the University of Buckingham, tells Guido:

“It seems likely that unions representing a small number of employees will have rather greater power. This may mean more strikes, but not necessarily: the threat of strikes is itself enough to boost bargaining power and induce employers to make higher pay offers – which may be inflationary and/or discourage the expansion of employment. Unions will be better able to resist change – for example on the railways, where the productivity record is already abysmal and there is chronic overstaffing in some areas.”

Karl Williams, Centre for Policy Studies Research Director, attacks the zero-hours changes and tells Guido:

“Workers on zero-hours contracts often value the flexibility to accept shifts as and when. For agency staff, who work across a number of different sites and in different roles, this is even more critical. Labour speak as though they understand growth and then act in ways which seem designed to inhibit employment, not unlock it.”

Labour did call the draft of the bill the Employment Rights (Union) Bill. Anyone going to do a growth mission check on this one?