“What we won’t have is people working regular hours who are given a zero hour contract and no security"
Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner has insisted that the party will not be slowing down its rollout of worker’s rights as part of its New Deal for Workers, after reports emerged that the proposals could be watered down.
Labour’s New Deal for working people includes a number of bold and radical steps to improve job security and conditions for workers, including, guaranteeing day one rights to protection from unfair dismissal, banning exploitative zero-hour contract and reversing the Conservative’s anti-union legislation.
In recent days Peter Mandelson had warned against “rushing” through the changes championed by trade unions, however the party has insisted that it will not slow down or water down their plans.
Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, said the party was committed to the package to “make work pay” and get more money into people’s pockets, but that it would “continue to discuss” the plans with business and unions.
And this morning, Rayner insisted that there will be no reversal. Asked if she would slow down new workers’ rights and the banning of zero hour contracts, she replied: “No, I’m not going to slow it down, I’ve been working with business and the trade unions and there is an acknowledgement that at the moment that insecure work that people face is not only having an impact on working people’s lives but it actually creates a circumstance where employers can’t get the staff that they need and have massive turnover, this affects profit as well, so there has to be a rebalancing.”
Rayner added: “What we won’t have is people working regular hours who are given a zero hour contract and no security, we’re calling time on that and I think most people recognise that and can see that you can’t get a mortgage, you can’t plan for your future, you can’t get credit if you’ve not got a contract that doesn’t give you any hours, it’s completely insecure’.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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