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Matt Wrack General Secretary of the FBU and President of the TUC, Paul Nowak TUC General Secretary, Sharon Graham of Unite push back on ‘changes’ to New Deal For Workers.
Labour will face a “hostile reaction” from unions if the UK opposition party announces a further dilution of its proposed worker’s rights policy, the president of the Trades Union Congress Matt Wrack told the FT.
The General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, told the Financial Times there should be “no rolling back” of Labour’s “New Deal for Working People”. “My message is very clear, no rolling back . . . if there is any more rolling back on the New Deal, they can expect a hostile reaction to it,” he said.
“People are not willing to just give up on this or retreat simply because Labour is the only show in town.” Wrack issued his warning after the Financial Times revealed on Wednesday that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party is set to unveil a weakened version of its employee rights package to ease business concerns.
Sharon Graham, General Secretary of Unite the Union, warned Labour that it needed to move quickly on Britain’s sub-standard employment rights. “If Labour do not explicitly recommit to what they have already pledged, namely that the New Deal for Workers will be delivered in full within the first 100 days of office, then a red line will be crossed,” she said.
“It would be normal, and often a legal requirement, for a government to have statutory consultation on its new legislation. The current government has often failed to consult and has been dragged through courts as a result,” said Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the TUC.
He added: “The unions expect Labour to deliver this programme.”
Mick Lynch, RMT General Secretary said: “Any dilution of the New Deal for workers is wholly unacceptable. Labour must not bend the knee to corporate greed and instead find its voice and values by representing the interests of working people in government.
“The New Deal for workers is popular amongst trades unionists and is an asset at the ballot box. “Working people need a Labour government that will protect them from the excesses of business, not one that kowtows to the vested interests of the super-rich.
“Any attempt to water down this popular policy will be met with a robust response from the entire trade union movement.”
FT comment: Shadow ministers are now set to embark on an attempt to persuade trade union leaders to accept the revised package, with a meeting scheduled for two weeks’ time, according to Labour and union figures.
They will argue that despite the consultations and revised language the essence of the package is broadly the same as before, they said.
Starmer earlier this week during the Usdaw union conference in Blackpool said: “We will not be watering down the New Deal For Working People.”