Andrew Gwynne, Labour candidate for Denton and Reddish, has hit out at bad bosses as Labour has named and shamed five of the UK’s worst employers who the party says have “exploited, ripped off and dehumanised” workers.
The party is pledging to take on these and other bad employers and guarantee everyone decent pay, security and dignity at work. Labour’s work manifesto, published today, sets out how Labour will deliver the biggest extension of workers’ rights the UK has ever seen.
Across Britain, Labour has highlighted Amazon, where in the last year ambulances were called to an Amazon warehouse once every two days; Sports Direct, where employees have reported being promised permanent contracts in exchange for sexual favours; and Asda, where employees were forced to sign new contracts meaning they were no longer to be paid for any breaks and be forced to work bank holidays and weekends or face the sack.
Labour will take on bad bosses with the biggest expansion in workers’ rights the UK has ever seen.
Labour will:
- End poverty pay by immediately introducing a Real Living Wage of £10 an hour for all workers – including 882,000 in the North West
- End bogus self-employment so that employers cannot evade workers’ rights;
- Ban zero-hour contracts and strengthen the law so that those who work regular hours for more than 12 weeks will have a right to a regular contract, reflecting those hours;
- Require breaks during shifts to be paid;
- Set up a Royal Commission to bring health (including mental health) and safety legislation up to date;
- Repeal anti-trade union legislation, including the Conservatives’ undemocratic Trade Union Act 2016;
- Create a Workers Protection Agency with powers to inspect workplaces and bring prosecutions and civil proceedings on workers’ behalf;
- Give everyone full and equal rights from day one at work, whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent and ending the qualifying period for basic rights;
- Require employers to create and maintain workplaces free from harassment, including by third parties.
Andrew Gwynne said:
“Under the Tories and the Lib Dems we have seen working conditions deteriorate for far too many people.
“It is increasingly obvious that the Tories in particular on the side of bad bosses, rather than with the workers who they are exploiting.
“Workers need real change and that is what Labour is offering.”
Laura Pidcock, Labour’s Shadow Employment Rights Secretary, said:
“People spend so much of their time at work and that time should not be characterised by worry and fear. As a government, we will be on the side of the worker, the good employer and the trade unionist, while putting exploitative employers on notice.
“Our transformative programme for workers would give them real power, real respect and dignity, while changing the culture of work in this nation. By breathing hope into workplaces across Britain, we can achieve real change.”