The ‘new deal for workers’ commits Labour to strengthening collective bargaining, with the introduction of ‘fair pay agreements’ to promote minimum standards for pay and conditions, along with:
- minimum wage of at least £10 an hour
- single status of ‘worker’ for all but the ‘genuinely self-employed’
- right to flexible working for all from day one in job
- ban zero-hours contracts and a contract that reflects your normal hours of work
- increasing statutory sick pay and extending to all workers, including self-employed and low-paid
- end to fire and rehire
- extend statutory parental leave, introducing a right to bereavement leave, strengthening protections for pregnant women and reforming the parental leave system
- updating trade union legislation
- establish a single enforcement body to enforce rights, inspect workplaces and bring prosecutions and civil proceedings against bad employers
- introducing mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “Angela Rayner has today shown that a key priority for the next Labour Government will be delivering security and opportunity for workers, alongside quality jobs that make work pay. This new deal for workers clearly demonstrates why our members need Labour to win the next general election, because they are the only party that will deliver on our priorities.
“The coronavirus crisis has brought about a new understanding of the essential role low-paid workers had in keeping our communities fed, healthy and safe. There must be lasting and fundamental change to the way society views our lowest paid workers, so we need Labour’s new deal.
“It cannot be right that good employers who do the right thing by their staff and engage positively with trade unions are undercut by rogue businesses that exploit workers with low-paid and insecure jobs. Labour will again level the playing field on employment rights, which is good for workers and good for business.
“This pandemic has shone a light on the changes our society needs, we cannot go back to the bad old ways of undervaluing workers. So we very much welcome these commitments from Labour, it shows that they are offering a real alternative to the Conservatives’ business as usual.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 380,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
Usdaw’s New Deal for Workers Campaign: https://www.usdaw.org.uk/Campaigns/A-New-Deal-for-Workers
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion