[IER] Govt blocks bill to stop fire and rehire

Fri Oct 22 18:08:40 BST 2021

News brief - 22/10/21                                                                            <https://us12.campaign-archive.com/?e=__test_email__&u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=d5738fd3ae> View this email in your browser 

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Govt blocks bill to stop fire and rehire

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The government has been called "cowardly" today after it appeared to use the whip to prevent Barry Gardiner's fire and rehire bill from going to the vote, then fillibustering until it ran out of time.

MPs noted that after voting down a 'closure motion', which would have forced politicians to vote in support or opposition of the draft legislation, a significant proportion of the government side left the chambers.

This raised suspicions that they had been whipped to prevent the Bill from going to the vote in order to save the government the embarrassment of opposing action against such a highly unpopular practice.

The Employment and Trade Union Rights (Dismissal and Re-Engagement Bill) would have required employers to meaningfully consult with workers and worker representatives around changes to terms and conditions needed to prevent business collapse.

Barry Gardiner stressed that there was nothing in the Bill to outlaw the practice of renegotiating contracts in this manner, as this could have "perverse consequences" such as forcing troubled businesses to make mass redundancies.

Instead, the Bill would stop employers from being able to use fire and rehire as a "sword of Damacles" held over their employees heads, forcing them to accept lower pay and conditions or lose their livelihoods entirely.

Barry recalled conversations he had with workers up and down the country who told him they had faced £15,000 cuts to their salaries, had been threatened on their own doorsteps by company representatives, and risked losing access to their children if their wages fell.

While politicians on all sides of the House spoke against the use of fire and rehire to threaten workers, Tory MPs argued that primary legislation was not needed to prevent such behaviour and that updated ACAS guidance to businesses should be enough.

As well as preventing the Bill from going to the vote, the government tabled an unrelated and non-time sensitive update on obesity midway through the debate, even though Fridays are typically reserved for Private Members' Bills. Conservative MPs then made speeches so long that the House ran out of time, allowing the second reading to lapse without conclusion and preventing it from reaching Committee Stage. 

 <https://www.ier.org.uk/news/govt-blocks-bill-to-stop-fire-and-rehire/> Read full story 

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