Boris Johnson promised repeatedly, including during the 2019 General Election, that Brexit would not mean taking away rights and protections at work. His replacement, Liz Truss, elected by 81,326 Conservative Party members and without a mandate to govern, has other ideas. Liz Truss promises to remove ‘the obstacles holding Britain back’. It has been widely briefed that this means removing rights at work including the right to refuse to work more than 48 hours a week, the right to 4 weeks paid holiday and to take regular breaks at work.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) recently released polling[i] showing strong support among voters of all parties for strengthening workers’ rights. The research found that 74% of respondents were in favour of ending ‘fire and rehire’, rising to 77% among Conservative voters. 68% of those surveyed supported a ban on zero-hours contracts – including 66% of Tory voters – while 77% were in favour of the introduction of ‘fair pay agreements’ across whole sectors, rising to 78% among Conservatives.

Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC said she has no faith that the government is going to have a “road to Damascus conversion” on workers’ rights. “We know that parts of the Conservative Party have long had precious rights, like limits on unsafe working hours, in their sights. They want to attack them, they want to attack the 48-hour a week maximum. They want to attack paid holidays and rights to rest breaks. And we’re saying hands off, because you’ll pay a heavy political price for making working lives worse,”

Councillor Shoab Akhtar, Cabinet Member for Employment and Skills said ‘The new, but unelected by the people, Tory Prime Minister is gearing up to put a match to employment rights. Giving bosses the right to exploit workers isn’t the answer to the UK’s productivity problems and low growth over the last lost decade of Tory rule. We need investment in sustainable jobs, for example in green industries like solar panels and alternatives to carbon based transport. Improving productivity comes from modern tools and state of the art technology – this also means investment by employers and the government. Reform of our education system to improve skills and vocational routes into sustainable work is also needed’.

Councillor Akhtar added ‘A Labour Government will deliver a new deal for working people which will extend sick pay, holiday, parental leave and the minimum wage from day one of their jobs to all workers, including those in the gig economy. You can’t build a thriving economy by exploiting workers. Countries where workers and employers work together, like Germany, build prosperity and provide good welfare support for those out of work and pensioners. I urge anyone in work but not in a trade union to join one today. Trade unions help workers to get and protect good working conditions and fair treatment. Trade unions often offer free legal advice for members and other benefits like low cost insurance. You can find the right union for you on the TUC website: https://www.tuc.org.uk/joinunion’.