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‘Fire and rehire’ must be banned

Unite poll shows 7 in 10 workers back call to end intimidation tactic

UNIONS are marking May Day by demanding an end to the “horrific” practice of fire and rehire, as a Unite poll shows that most workers favour a ban on the “bully-boy” tactic.

Seven in 10 of those who spoke to polling agency Survation said that bosses’ increasingly common tactic of threatening workers with the sack unless they accept worse pay and conditions should be outlawed.

A similar proportion (68 per cent) of the 1,009 respondents disapproved or strongly disapproved of fire and rehire.

The TUC found that the practice has been used against one in 10 workers across the country during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Voters from across the political spectrum have expressed concerns about “dismissal and engagement” in separate Survation research for Unite, with many saying that it is the job of government and not boardrooms to regulate it.

Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson describing fire and rehire as “unacceptable,” the government has not legislated against it, with the long-promised employment Bill yet to see the light of day.

Unite wants the government to use the forthcoming Queen’s speech on May 11 to catch up with Ireland and Spain and present the necessary legislation to ban the practice, which Business Minister Paul Scully said was an example of “bully-boy tactics.”

Howard Beckett, Unite’s assistant general secretary for legal and political work, said it was “quite clear that the public is firmly on the side of working people when it comes to [this] horrific practice.”

Mr Beckett added: “[Ministers have] to get on the same page as the voters on this and fast.

“The government itself has denounced fire and rehire, so we expect them to eliminate it. The public’s revulsion is clear.”

The union has started a national campaign for abolition of the tactic, backed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, several MPs including John McDonnell and Ian Lavery and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

The launch on April 26 saw dozens of grassroots solidarity actions across the country in support of workers resisting fire and rehire at coffee giant Jacob Douwe Egberts, Go North West buses in Manchester and the Goodlord letting agency, among others. 

The call comes as the GMB union continues a bitter dispute with British Gas after the Centrica-owned energy giant sacked about 500 engineers who refused to sign new contracts, which the union said would require them to work more hours for less pay.

GMB acting national secretary Andy Prendergast said: “Our members, and the wider public, are furious. They see profit-making employers [squeezing] their staff to boost profits.

“We are proud of our British Gas members for taking a stand against these exploitative practices and will continue to support members whenever other employers make similar moves.

“Considering the fact that even a Conservative PM calls the practice unacceptable, a change in the law to ban such activities is desperately needed.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said fire and rehire should have “no place in modern Britain” and demanded that ministers stop “turning a blind eye” to the problem.

“Boris Johnson promised the country an employment Bill to protect and enhance workers’ rights. It’s high time he delivered on that promise,” she insisted. 

In a statement, the London May Day Organising Committee said unity was needed to resist some employers’s attempts to use the pandemic to “carry through plans to cut jobs, pay and conditions and impose more stressful ways of working.

“Many of these employers have been making a fortune [during the crisis] but are still pushing these cuts ahead, with fire and rehire as an opening salvo.

“This May Day, the old call remains: honour the dead and fight like mad for the living.”

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