BFAWU Response to Parliament passing through the Employment Rights Bill yesterday

The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union welcomes yesterday’s announcement of the Employment Rights Bill as an important step forward for working people and a recognition that the balance of power in the workplace must shift back towards workers and their trade unions.

After years of deregulation, insecurity and attacks on organised labour, it is right that a Labour government has begun the process of strengthening employment protections. Many of the measures outlined reflect long-standing demands raised by the BFAWU and the trade union movement and represent real progress for our members across the food, manufacturing and allied sectors.

However, while we recognise the progress made in improving workers’ rights, we are clear that this Bill does not go far enough. For too many workers, insecurity, exploitation and low pay remain entrenched. Yesterday must be seen as the beginning, not the end, of a program of reform.

BFAWU believes there is an urgent need for a Employment Rights Bill #2  one that strengthens the rights of all workers and tackles the structural failings of the UK labour market. Such a Bill must include:

1. The immediate repeal of all anti-union laws, which continue to restrict workers’ ability to organise and defend their interests.
2. A full ban on fire and rehire, enforceable by injunction, to stop employers using bullying tactics to drive down pay and conditions.
3. An end to all zero-hours contracts, ensuring workers have security, predictability and dignity at work.
4. A £15 per hour minimum wage with no age exemptions, so that young workers are no longer treated as second-class.
5. A statutory right to collective bargaining for all workers, alongside a clear legal mechanism for establishing sector-wide collective bargaining.
6. Amendments to UK labour law to bring it into line with international standards, including ILO conventions.
7. Universal employment rights through a single worker status, including for workers on working visas, to end bogus self-employment and exploitation.
8. Day one rights for all workers, so basic protections are not withheld through arbitrary qualifying periods.
9. A full trade union right of access to workers on employers’ premises, enforceable by injunction, to support effective organising and representation.
10. An end to restrictions on industrial action and the introduction of a positive right to strike, including the right to take solidarity action.

We also stress that rights on paper mean little without strong enforcement. Any reform program must be backed by properly resourced enforcement bodies and real access to justice for workers and their unions.

BFAWU will continue to campaign, organise and work with the wider trade union movement to ensure that this Bill is strengthened, fully implemented and followed by further legislation that delivers real, transformative change.

Our members deserve secure work, decent pay and dignity at work and we will not stop until that becomes a reality.

Sign up to support the call for an Employment Rights Bill #2 here – https://bit.ly/DemandERB2