The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill is scheduled to receive its second reading in the House of Lords today (16 June) and is sponsored by Labour Peer, Baroness Anderson. The Bill has passed all its stages in the House of Commons and introduces a new statutory right for workers to request a predictable working pattern.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary says: “The right to request a more predictable contract was included in the 2019 Conservative manifesto, after the Taylor Review recommended reform in 2017. After nearly four years the Tories have still failed to bring forward their promised employment bill and have relied on piecemeal legislation through private members bills. This latest measure is not enough and amounts to a very small step. So, while we ask the House of Lords to support the Bill, we have to be clear that much more needs to be done to tackle insecure work.
“The ongoing cost of living crisis is devastating for all workers, particularly the lowest paid who are often struggling in insecure employment. Skyrocketing prices, along with huge increases in energy and fuel costs, leave too many workers unable to make ends meet. Short-term support with current cost of living pressures is crucial, but the Government needs to deliver a new deal for workers.
“At the heart of the cost of living crisis is poor employment rights and low pay. We need a new deal that makes work pay and an end to one-sided flexibility, with a ban on zero and short hours contracts to provide much needed security of employment and income. Alongside this we also need an immediate £12 per hour minimum wage for all workers, regardless of age, as a step towards £15.
“Only Labour will deliver a new deal for workers within the first 100 days of coming into government, providing the rights and protections our members so desperately need. The Tories have failed to deliver for the last 13 years, their time is up, we need a change and a general election as soon as possible.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with over 350,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades
www.usdaw.org.uk
Labour’s New Deal for Workers: www.usdaw.org.uk/LaboursNDW
Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3237
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter
@UsdawUnion