Latest editorial
Andy McDonald and Lord John Hendy QC with the Bill, which has made it through the Lords
LABOUR’S Andy McDonald called on the Tory government to back the historic Status of Workers Bill today as he introduced it to the Commons.
The former shadow secretary for employment rights said the legislation, originally proposed by Labour peer John Hendy QC, would end “bogus and exploitative employment practices.”
The Bill, which passed its third reading in the House of Lords on Friday, would introduce a single category of “worker” for all but the genuinely self-employed.
It will now join a list of other private members’ Bills to be considered by MPs, with those endorsed by ministers having a much greater chance of becoming law.
Mr McDonald said: “All workers should be given the same rights and protections, including rights to sick pay, holiday pay, parental leave [and] protection against unfair dismissal.
“A single status for all will also clamp down on bogus self-employment, and unscrupulous employers will no longer be able to treat their staff like regular employees while falsely claiming they are not.
“If the government was really interested in levelling up, it would throw its weight behind this Bill and ensure that it becomes law without any unnecessary delay.”
Labour’s watered-down legislation won’t protect us from unfair dismissal or ban some zero-hours contracts until 2027 — leaving millions of young people vulnerable to the populist right’s appeal, warns TUC young workers chair FRASER MCGUIRE
Labour must not allow unelected members of the upper house to erode a single provision of the Employment Rights Bill, argues ANDY MCDONALD MP
The Bill addresses some exploitation but leaves trade unions heavily regulated, most workers without collective bargaining coverage, and fails to tackle the balance of power that enables constant mutation of bad practice, write KEITH EWING and LORD JOHN HENDY KC