[IER] Casual workers show support for unionisation

Fri May 25 18:02:18 BST 2018

IER News Brief 25/05/18Follow us on Twitter 
news brief
Friday 25th May 2018
Casual workers this week showed their support for unionisation, raising £10,000 to fight a court battle against a "gig" employer in just one day.

A fundraiser held by the Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB) union gathered 20% of the funding required to take Deliveroo to task over the employment status of its couriers within the first 24 hours of its campaign.

This follows two strikes by casual workers at McDonalds, organised by the BFAWU, in which staff on zero-hour contracts rallied for guaranteed hours, an end to age discrimination, and a living wage.

The IWGB hopes to appeal a decision by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) that, despite popular support for union action among Deliveroo workers in Camden and Kentish Town, they cannot create a collective bargaining unit because they are 'independent contractors' and not 'workers'.

In similar cases, such as at Uber and other courier firms, tribunals have found "gig" workers to be 'workers' in law and therefore eligible for basic employment rights such as the minimum wage and holiday pay.

Union pressure also won new rights for casual workers this week at Uber. The firm has been widely criticised for flouting employment law by misleading drivers about their employment status, classifying them as 'independent contractors' rather than 'workers'. In response, the firm has announced it will provide sickness pay, compensation for injury, maternity pay, and bereavement pay for drivers, as well as delivery staff at Uber Eats.

This deal, however, falls short of the workers' rights drivers should be entitled to, including the fact that drivers will still not have access to holiday pay and the minimum wage.

The Institute of Employment Rights recommends two main reforms to provide security and fair pay to casual workers. In our Manifesto for Labour Law, we propose that the three-tier system for employment status is scrapped and replaced with a universal status of 'worker', which provides all people in employment with access to the full suite of rights from day one. Further, sectoral collective bargaining should be reinstated in order that trade unions and employers' associations can negotiate minimum pay and conditions for all people working within an industry, regardless of whether they are a casual worker or a permanent employee.

Read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law
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 News and commentSupport the IER in its 30th Anniversary year
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> click here to read full storyGet free access to music festivals by volunteering for the IER
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> click here to email our office and express your interestUnion pressure forces Uber to gives drivers workers' rights
Uber has offered its drivers a new insurance scheme that provides them with workers' rights following increasing pressure from unions, but the deal falls short of what the drivers would likely be legally entitled to if they took their case to court. 
> click here to read full storyCasual workers support union action, raising nearly £10k in one day
Support for unionisation among casual workers appears to be growing, with the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) raising nearly £10,000 in just one day as people rushed to support its legal action against "gig economy" firm Deliveroo. 
> click here to read full storyIER Chair addresses ASLEF conference
IER Chair, John Hendy QC, addressed the ASLEF conference this week to detail the proposals of our Manifesto for Labour Law. 
> click here to read full story
 Free resources 
Many thanks to all the delegates who attended our Future of Labour Law conference in Liverpool on May 10th.

The papers presented by all of our expert speakers - authors of the Manifesto for Labour Law, who expanded on their proposals for reform - are now available for download from our website. 

If you missed out on this event, there is still time to book your place at the next Future of Labour Law conference in London on 14 June.   Events London: The Future of Labour Law: Progressive rights under a progressive government
14 June 2018 - 09:30 - 15:00
Unite the Union, London
At this conference, key authors from our Manifesto for Labour Law team will guide delegates through our proposed reforms, the evidence behind them, and the benefits for workers, employers and the economy of reform.
Speakers include Prof Nicola Countouris, Prof David Whyte, Dr Aristea Koukiadaki & John Hendy QC.
> click here to read more and book your place
  PublicationsLabour Law Highlights 2017: £8
Edited by Rebecca Tuck
Catch up with the most important case law developments in 2017 in the latest of our popular Labour Law Highlights series.

In this year’s Labour Law Highlights, a team of barristers from Old Square Chambers returns to assess how each of these events has impacted upon case law in the last 12 months, including clarification from the courts on the requirements of the Trade Union Act in practice, the flurry of tribunal hearings regarding ‘gig’ workers, and further decisions on the rights of workers required to take "sleep-in" shifts. In each case, they provide commentary on the potential wider implications of tribunal decisions.
> click here to read more and purchaseEurope, the EU and Britain: Workers' Rights and Economic Democracy: £8
Notes from a seminar by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Marx Memorial Library
On 01 July 2017, labour movement leaders from across Europe met at the Marx Memorial Library, London, to discuss how a progressive future for workers’ rights can be sought following the UK’s vote to leave the EU. This report documents the meeting, including the transcripts of each presentation, as well as notes on the discussion between panel and delegates on the day.
> click here to read more and purchaseThe Legacy of Thatcherism in European Labour Relations: The Impact of the Politics of Neo-Liberalism and Austerity on Collective Bargaining in a Fragmenting Europe: £8
By Miguel Martinez Lucio, Aristea Koukiadaki and Isabel Tavora
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, this analysis – the 11th in our Comparative Notes series – shines a light on the deleterious effect of the nation's deregulatory influence on the bloc.
> click here to read more and purchase8 Good Reasons Why Adult Social Care Needs Sectoral Collective Bargaining: £8
By Dr Lydia Hayes
In this booklet, Dr Lydia Hayes sets out the lessons learned from her interdisciplinary research into the social care sector, and builds upon the recommendations made in the Institute of Employment Rights' Manifesto for Labour Law: a comprehensive revision of worker’s rights to propose a sectoral collective bargaining structure for the negotiation of wages and conditions.
> Click here to read more and buy your copy
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