Briefing Paper: The Employment Rights Bill – A big step forward, but bigger steps required.
By Lord John Hendy KC and Professor Keith Ewing.
Category: Uncategorized
LABOUR’S EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS BILL AUTUMN 2024 WEBINARS
Labour’s new Employment Rights Bill, said to be the enactment of the Green Paper New Deal for Working People, has met with a mixed reception in the trade union movement; some warmly welcoming the proposals in the bill – with others already pointing out where the Bill has serious weaknesses.
The Campaign for Trade Union Freedom is holding TWO on-line only webinars on the Employment Rights Bill during the Autumn 2024, looking at what’s good in the Bill and also looking to campaign on the Employment Bill’s shortcomings.
Webinar 1 – Thursday 21st November at 6:00 pm
Speakers: Jo Grady – General Secretary, University & College Union
Prof Keith Ewing – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Lord John Hendy KC – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Chair: Carolyn Jones – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
To register for this event Webinar 1 click here:
or paste in this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_o295k-UWSjGUgfXMQcIvsQ
Webinar 2 – Thursday 12th December at 6:00 pm
Speakers: Fran Heathcote – General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union
Prof Keith Ewing – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Lord John Hendy KC – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Chair: Tony Burke – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
To register for this event Webinar 2 click here:
or paste in this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KkwLdVXwQDKmpggLBolsLw
Here are links to articles written by Officers of the Campaign on the Bill:
Alternatively, you can listen to what will be the first in a series of six podcasts produced by the Institute of Employment Rights www.ier.org.uk/the-ier-podcast or via your usual platform.
Labour’s Employment Bill – Published on Thursday
Business & Trade Secretary Jonathon Reynolds will address the Labour PLP tonight at 6pm. October 7th
Here is what the website Politico are saying – taken from a Bloomberg report on Saturay (subscription only).
Talks are still ongoing despite what, by all accounts, will be a thick sheaf of paper going to the printers soon — and despite long wrangling and watering-down before Labour even won on July 4. Those involved expect lots of the thorny details to be kicked into the consultations that were promised as part of all this. One says next week’s bill will only be the “start of the process.”
The most contentious will be the promise to give workers rights from “Day One” on the job — particularly to sue for unfair dismissal, which currently has a two-year waiting period. Two people this week told Politico Playbook the talks are heading firmly toward effectively shortening that to about six to nine months. TBF, it’s less than the 12 months industry groups wanted. (When the FT reported a six-month period two weeks ago, a source told the BBC it was “jumping the gun.”)
The devil will be in the detail and the spin. Labour’s plan promised “basic rights of protection against unfair dismissal” on Day One, and one union official insists there will be something that shows this promise is being kept. The debate, they argue, will be over how it interacts with probation periods — these are what could last six to nine months, and the talks are looking at putting them into statute (compared to mere contract law, as now). Unions will be anxious to iron out any loopholes in that.
Day One rights are “likely to be the totemic issue some unions claim betrayal on,” a second union official predicts. “Some initial rights like a fair process may be the solution, which is a pragmatic choice, but Labour will be under pressure.”
Despite this, people from union and business land — who have found sitting next to each other in meetings a novel experience — insist the talks have been broadly positive. There is broad agreement on the pledge to extend eligibility for statutory sick pay. But one business leader says firms are seeking a “quid pro quo” in the Oct. 30 budget, such as tax breaks for firms that give employees access to private dentistry, physio or GP services. Best of luck with that.
The pledge to ban “exploitative” zero-hour contracts (no longer all zero-hour contracts) could take the form of letting workers request a more stable contract once they have 12 weeks of service to base their hours on. As previously reported, it’ll be harder for firms to reject requests for flexible working (like hours “compressed” into a four-day week) … while the “right to switch off” will be in a code rather than directly written into the bill. Expect plenty of chatter about the details in the days ahead.
EU Services Unions Report On The Extension Of Collective Bargaining
By Tony Burke
A new report from the European global union UniEuropa which represents 270 unions and 7 million members working in service industries including communications, digital and tech, graphical, media, finance and commerce has published a new report backing the extension and European wide collective bargaining.
It comes at an appropriate time as the European Minimum Wage Directive offers Europe’s unions an opportunity to rebuild trade union membership and power across Europe.
Under the directive all EU countries are obliged to protect and promote collective bargaining and, where collective bargaining coverage is below 80%, EU Member States are obliged to draw up and implement national action plans to increase collective bargaining coverage and the UniEuropa report is urging unions to grasp this opportunity of developing National Action Plans by proposing ideas and strategies to boost collective bargaining coverage.
These include the urgent need to strengthen trade union bargaining capacity by removing existing barriers to union organisation and protecting workers from anti-union practices; encouraging union organising and membership by limiting the cost of joining a union through tax exemptions or refunds; giving unions access to workers and developing workers facilities and resources for union representation; the introduction of union-only benefits, solidarity fees; systems of mandatory union membership, and the general need to re-regulate the European labour market to reduce precarious work.
The report also focuses on employers by challenging fragmented collective bargaining in multi- employer sectors; enabling policies to make some enterprise benefits including tax credits, training and access to subsidised employment conditional on collective bargaining and compulsory membership of employers’ organisations who are mandated to collectively bargain with unions.
In addition the report argues public policy should promote effective collective bargaining including ensuring the availability of accurate and complete data; proposing information requirements for employers; emphasising good-faith bargaining and fair bargaining practices; reform of industrial action and (the report specially says that “there can be no bargaining without the right to strike, and in some contexts reform of strike regulations is overdue”); regulations and financial support for collective bargaining and mediation; compulsory bargaining, mediation, arbitration systems and the setting of sectoral standards through government regulation.
The report also proposes collective agreements become effective regulatory instruments and have a legal status; a restriction on the use of opt-out clauses; using public procurement to incentivise sectoral bargaining and specialised labour courts; improving enforcement and education to shape cultural attitudes and promoting the benefits of collective bargaining and promoting a positive culture around good working conditions and collective bargaining.
The summary of the report says it does not claim to be exhaustive or definitive, nor does it reflect the position of UNI Europa or affiliates – some unions opposed a European Minimum Wage, for instance in Nordic countries preferring to maintain their own collective bargaining arrangements.
This report is ambitious – to say the least. There are ideas in the report that are in Labour’s New Deal including access to workers and anti strike legislation but others notably the extension of sectoral collective bargaining could be incorporated into Labour’s New Deal.
For those Labour ministers and MPs who will be guiding the New Deal through the House Of Commons it is well worth reading.
Download a copy of the report here
Tony Burke is Co-Chair Of The Campaign For Trade Union Freedom.