By james art Labor delivered this week.
Having been an MP under three different Tory governments in just four years, I have spent most of my time in Parliament opposing Conservative attacks on working people, but this week, late on Monday night, I joined over 380 MPs, the vast majority of them Labour, to vote for the Employment Rights Bill – the most significant boost to workers’ rights in a generation.
He overturned some of the worst laws of previous Tory governments, such as the Strike Act, but went further: he restored the social fabric that the Conservatives tore apart during their rule.
From ‘first day’ workplace rights, rights which will benefit up to nine million people, to an end to ‘fire and re-hire’ schemes and enhanced maternity and paternity rights, the Bill is truly transformative for workers .
Labor law is also tackling the scourge of precarious work, in particular zero-hours contracts – something I particularly welcome.
I know from personal experience that precarious jobs are nothing but a burden on workers and their families; after all, how can you raise a family if you’re stuck in a precarious job, hustling for hours?
It’s a situation that was made worse by the years of Tory austerity that emptied our public services and their cost of living crisis.
Too many people in the North East have been trapped in the cycle of precarious work. This summer the Congress of Trade Unions found that over 150,000 people in our region are in precarious employment. We cannot forget that under the Tories (supported for a time by the Lib Dems) the number of people on precarious contracts more than tripled.
No more: once the bill receives royal assent, workers will be able to switch to a contract that reflects the hours they actually work.
Rules will also be put in place so that working people get decent notice of shifts, allowing people to plan their lives around their families rather than their bad bosses.
For too long, workers have been denied dignity at work.
How can you feel valued in your job if you are underpaid, on an insecure contract and with anti-union laws stopping you from fighting for better rights? People’s work should bring them satisfaction by providing them with the means to enjoy their lives.
This bill is a big step forward in restoring the dignity of working people.
Not surprisingly, not a single Reform MP voted in favor of the labor rights bill. All voted against. We should keep that in mind the next time they pretend to be on the side of the workers.
The people who deserve praise for the policies in the bill, however, are all the people who, year after year, fly their flags at the Gala. The activists, trade unionists and workers who fought so hard – in the teeth of the Tory government – for a better, more equal society. Without them, we would not have this bill.
Of course, we still have a lot of wrongs to right, but in just over 100 days in government Labor has done more for working people than the Conservatives did in 14 years.