Labour has pledged to deliver new rights for working people in an employment bill in its first 100 days.
Even Tory voters support Labour’s New Deal for Working People, a new poll for the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found, which includes policies such as banning fire and rehire and zero hour contracts as well as protecting all workers from day one from unfair dismissal.
The polling, conducted by Opinium for the TUC, shows large-scale support across the political spectrum for Labour’s flagship workers’ rights programme.
The polling reveals:
Day one rights: 2 in 3 (67%) support all workers having a day one right to protection from unfair dismissal – including 61% of Conservative 2019 voters. 16% of UK adults oppose it.
Gig economy rights: 6 in 10 (62%) support giving those working in the gig economy new rights and protections such as sick pay and holiday pay – including 59% of Conservative 2019 voters. In contrast, just 6% of UK adults oppose it.
Ban on fire and rehire: 2 in 3 (67%) support a ban on fire and rehire – including 64% of Conservative 2019 voters. In contrast, 17% of UK adults oppose it.
Ban on zero hours contracts: 6 in 10 (63%) support a ban on zero hours contracts – including 60% of Conservative 2019 voters. In contrast, 14% of UK adults oppose it.
And there is strong support for collective rights too, including:
Union access to workplaces: Over half (51%) support giving trade unions a right to access any workplace to tell workers about the benefits of joining a trade union – including 4 in 10 (38%) Conservative 2019 voters. In contrast, 17% of UK adults oppose it.
All of the above policies are in Labour’s new deal for working people – which the TUC says will be “transformative” and “the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation”.
Labour has pledged to deliver new rights for working people in an employment bill in its first 100 days.
The TUC has released the polling ahead of the shadow Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, delivering a speech to Congress later today.
The TUC says Labour’s plan stands in “stark contrast” to the Conservatives’ dire record on workers’ rights in government.
The Tories have overseen an erosion of rights at work, including raising the waiting period for protection against unfair dismissal to two years, leaving significant numbers of employees unprotected at any given time. Insecure work has exploded under the Conservatives, rising to one in nine of the workforce.
And their 2019 manifesto commitment of an employment bill is nowhere to be seen – despite being promised in parliament over 20 times.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “British voters across the political spectrum want more security and fairer treatment at work.
“For 13 long years, the Conservatives have presided over a race to the bottom on pay and conditions at work.
“The Tories have turned their back on working people – and the public are desperate for change.
“Labour’s transformative New Deal for Working People stands in stark contrast to the wretched Conservative record on workers’ rights.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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