'Failed approach to industrial relations has led to the worst strikes'

MP for Ellesmere Port

TWO particularly offensive pieces of draft legislation have preoccupied my time at Westminster this week.

And, judging by my MP’s postbag, attempts by the Conservative Government to introduce the two laws I will now mention are of considerable concern to many of my constituents.

Wearing my dual role hats of as Shadow Minister (Business and Industrial Strategy) and Shadow Minister (Future of Work), I have a particular interest the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill.

The Strikes Bill went through its Second Reading in the Commons on Monday and a hearing of the Retained EU Law Bill took place straight after Questions to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

The shoddy Strikes Bill amounts to an unworkable and impractical attempt to prevent people from exercising their legitimate right to strike which they do only as a last resort when negotiations with their employers break down. The official Opposition in Parliament strongly opposes this fundamental attack on working people’s freedoms.

It should be noted that the Government’s failed approach to industrial relations has led to the worst strikes across various sectors in decades. At every stage Ministers have sought to collapse talks and thrown in last minute spanners. They have chosen legislation rather than negotiation and it is scarcely believable that under three years since the Government were clapping NHS workers for their sterling efforts during the pandemic that they are now proposing to sack those very same workers if they decide to take industrial action to improve their terms and conditions.

Turning now to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, make no mistake about it, if this passes into law, then on January 1, 2024 we could all lose a raft of hard-fought employment entitlements including holiday pay, rights to maternity and parental leave, protection for part-time and fixed-term workers, agency worker rights and protection from discrimination.

This reckless Bill will allow Ministers to amend or repeal all legislation carried over from our membership of the European Union – thought to consist of more than 2,400 pieces of law, and possibly as many as 3,800 – with nearly no Parliamentary scrutiny. If the Government does not pass a replacement to any of those pieces of legislation before the end of next year, they will expire and will no longer be law in our country.

My constituents have identified the risks to their hard-earned entitlements and they have written in large numbers urging me to do what I can to ensure that it is kicked into the long grass.

These attacks on workers’ rights should properly be put into context. Wages in Cheshire West constituencies have fallen by an average of £3,029 since 2010 resulting in a cut of eight per cent on average. Across the country as a whole, real wages are down by an average of 5%. If the economy had continued to grow at the same rate as it had been with the last Labour government, then there would be £30 billion more to spend on public services. My constituents are financially worse off under this Government and it now looks like they will be worse off in terms of their rights too.