[IER] Unions back new Bill for workers

[Sarah Glenister]

                            News brief - 01/06/21                                                                           View this email in your browser
                        


                            Unions back new Bill for workers



        

                            Unions have come out in support of a the Status of Workers Bill, which was introduced to the House of Lords on Wednesday (26 May 2021).
The draft legislation, launched by IER Chair Lord John Hendy QC, would introduce a new universal status of 'worker' to replace the UK's unwieldy law around employment status.
Currently, people in employment fall into several categories, including 'employees' - who can qualify for access to all employment rights; and 'limb (b) workers' who are eligible for only the most basic rights. There are also a significant proportion of workers who have been misled by their employer into thinking they are 'self-employed' (and therefore entitled to no workers' rights). These include 'gig' workers and those cajoled into establishing their own Personal Service Companies for which they are the only employee, thereby being responsible for meeting their own employment rights!
The Status of Workers Bill would collapse all of these types of employment into one legal status - that of a 'worker' - eligible for all employment rights. The only exception would be those who are genuinely self-employed.
TUC General Secretary, Frances O'Grady, said the changes proposed in the Bill are "long overdue".
"The Status of Workers Bill would give the millions of long-exploited gig workers in the UK greater rights," she said in a piece for Politics Home.

"The need for change has been brought into focus by events of the past year," she said. "The pandemic has brutally exposed the terrible working conditions and insecurity that is the daily reality for these key workers. We owe it to them to make sure we learn lessons from this pandemic and upgrade workers' rights across the board."
She also noted there is "overwhelming public support" for giving all workers the same employment rights, with 84% of people supporting the proposal in a recent poll.
Sarah Woolley, BFAWU General Secretary, also supported the Bill. She said the "human cost" of insecure work had been brought into sharp relief by the pandemic for food workers.
"A recent BFAWU study found that one in five food workers were so poorly paid that they couldn’t afford enough to eat during the pandemic, even as they travelled to their jobs, day in and day out, to ensure rest of us didn’t go hungry," she said."We cannot allow anyone to live in fear like this."
GMB, National Officer, Mix Rix said the Bill "provides a solution to the exploitation tens of thousands of workers are suffering, and the rights they are being denied".
"Government cannot keep burying its head in the sand any longer. If it wants to build back better, then it should demonstrate its support," he said.Read more
                                        
                                    

                            Low-cost advertising with the IERThe IER is proud to launch a programme of low-cost advertising to trade unions and the organisations that wish to reach them as a means of supporting our charitable aims.
For just £50, you can have your image in our newsletter, with a link to your website, campaign, event or service, and a coloured box of text - just like this - all about you.Read more



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                    COMMENT: Why we need a Right to FoodWith one in five food workers going hungry, BFAWU General Secretary, Sarah Woolley, says the UK needs to institute a legal Right to Food.Read full story



                    COMMENT: A new Bill for all workersLord John Hendy QC details the proposals set out in his new Status of Workers Bill.Read full storyWATCH: IER President, Professor Keith Ewing, on the critical role of trade unions


            

            

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        Automation – negotiating a fair deal when technological improvements are made22nd June 2021 – 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm
FREE
 About this eventPeril and possibility for workers – exploring the worst and the best of automation transition.
Our speakers at this event will consider the past, the present and the future of automation and its interaction with the workplace and workers' rights.
Dr Leo Impett of the University of Durham will share his work identifying an ingrained bias towards worker exploitation within systems that rely on artifical intelligence.
Louisa Bull of Unite the Union will consider the impact on workers of historical advances in technology and how unions can ensure that an automation-led increase in economic productivity can be more fairly distributed among the population instead of simply lining the pockets of the rich.
Finally, General Secretary of the ACDU, James Farrar - who was a lead claimant in the case against Uber - will discuss the present-day fight against exploitative technology.
 SpeakersDr Leo Impett, University of Durham
Louise Bull, Unite the Union
James Farrar, General Secretary of the ACDUBook your placeIER and Covid-19Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER is holding all events online until further notice.IER staff will continue to work, but remotely from home. We will answer emails, produce publications and circulate our weekly News Briefs and other on-line information. However, phone calls to the office or mail sent by post will not receive immediate attention.We apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you all best wishes during this difficult time.
                                                                                
                                                                                
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