Latest news with #workersrights
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Unfair': Labor reveals penalty rates protection as priority when parliament returns
Pay for workers in female, part time and under-35 dominated industries will be the target of some of the first new laws under the new federal government. On Saturday, Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth announced laws to protect penalty rates and overtime pay for 2.6 million workers would be introduced in the coming weeks. 'If you rely on the modern award safety net and work weekends, public holidays, early mornings or late nights, you deserve to have your wages protected,' Ms Rishworth said. 'We want this law passed as a top priority, so workers are protected from the loopholes that see their take-home pay go backwards.' People covered by award rates are more likely to be women, work part time, be under 35 years of age or employed on casual contracts, Ms Rishworth said. The proposed law would add rules to the Fair Work Act, so penalty rates and overtime cannot be rolled up into a single rate of pay where it leaves any individual worker worse off. Speaking in Canberra on Saturday, Ms Rishworth stood alongside retail workers who said their penalty rates were 'really important' in paying for groceries and school fees. Retail worker Daniel said he was paid about $85 in penalty rates each week, equalling $4240 a year. 'I've been in retail for 17 years … That money often pays for vets, dentists, doctors and food. 'Generally, I find living on six to $700 a week is a struggle, whether you've got a partner to rely on or not. 'Penalty rates honestly make a huge difference, and without it, I'd have to work more. See my family less, see my dog less, see my friends less,' he said. 'Just not go to the movies, not ever have a holiday. It's a myriad of things that would affect me.' Ms Rishworth said the new legislation was prompted by 'a number of cases' where penalty rates were being reduced 'in an unfair way'. Retail, clerical and banking sector companies had made moves to trade away penalty rates for lower-paid workers, she said, leaving those staff worse off. 'Enterprise bargaining is the appropriate place to negotiate on entitlements – not eroding the award safety net,' Ms Rishworth said. Labor needs only the support of the Greens in the senate to pass legislation, sidelining the other minor parties and independents who held sway in the previous parliament's upper house.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Teesworks SeAH wind firm workers win right to union recognition
Workers at a wind turbine parts factory have won the right to union government's central arbitration committee accepted an application by the GMB union for SeAH Wind Ltd workers at Teesworks, near Redcar, after concluding that enough workers wanted to be in a company, which builds wind turbine monopiles, had refused voluntary recognition because the factory was not yet fully GMB said the "historic victory" meant the business would be the first at Teesworks to be unionised. SeAH has been contacted for comment. The manufacturing firm, owned by South Korea's SeAH Steel Holding, broke ground at Teesworks in has received hundreds of millions of pounds in investment to help address the growing demand for green bargaining unit would comprise of "all hourly paid manual workers employed at SeAH Wind Ltd Teesside", the application application was accepted in a ruling on Organiser Andy Blunt said: "This is a major breakthrough for workers' rights at SeAh and should send a clear message to all employers working out of Teesworks - trade union recognition is not an optional extra."The GMB said SeAH had 20 days to reach an agreement. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Times
a day ago
- Health
- Times
Angela Rayner's bill ‘will make it easier for doctors to strike'
Labour's workers' rights overhaul will make it harder for hospitals to find cover for walkouts because unions will no longer need to tell managers in which departments the strikers work. NHS bosses have raised safety fears about the measures, which could put Wes Streeting, the health secretary, on a collision course with Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, who is leading the reforms. The Employment Rights Bill, which is making its way through the Lords, will make it easier for the British Medical Association (BMA) to call strikes, with some doctors saying jokingly: 'All hail Queen Angela'. Unions will no longer have to meet a legal threshold of a 50 per cent turnout in a ballot to hold a strike. The reforms will also increase the length of a strike ballot mandate from six months to 12. This is expected to only apply to new ballots once the legislation has passed but NHS bosses have said it raised the prospect of 'ongoing, lengthy periods of industrial action'. The BMA had only a 55 per cent turnout in its recent ballot of resident or junior doctors, and on current trends turnout would dip below 50 per cent if the union reballots doctors next year. However, Rayner's reforms mean the BMA would be able to strike anyway. Resident doctors have said the bill is a 'game changer' in their long fight to get 'full pay restoration' to 2008 levels — the equivalent of a 29 per cent pay rise. By law, individual employees do not need to tell employers if they intend to strike but unions must tell bosses how many workers in each category will walk out, as part of their notice of a strike. The Employment Rights Bill will remove that requirement and while unions will still need to list the category of workers, they will not need to provide the numbers of workers in each category. This week, Streeting said it was 'shockingly irresponsible' for unions to tell striking doctors not to inform their bosses. He said: 'What I cannot fathom is how any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels, would make it harder for other staff who are going to be turning up to work that day, not least the staff who have not had a higher percentage pay rise, many of whom are paid less than resident doctors.' Richard Sloggett, of Future Health Research, said the Employment Rights Bill was 'very problematic for Streeting' and he was being 'boxed in by Angela Rayner'. Rory Deighton, acute network director at the NHS Confederation, said: 'Not knowing whether individual members of staff will go out on strike can create much uncertainty for NHS leaders who will be working to minimise the impact on the provision of care and services to patients, ensuring that services can continue to be delivered safely — including considerations on the welfare of all of their staff working normally and not taking strike action.' • Key Labour workers' rights reforms delayed after business backlash He said employers and unions needed to 'work constructively and professionally at all times' and added: 'Nobody in the NHS, least of all patients, want to see ongoing, lengthy periods of industrial action, however, these reforms do mean this is a risk we could face.' Chris Coombes, senior associate at the employment law firm Littler, said: 'Certainly, for employers who need to arrange cover during periods of industrial action, it will be more difficult to do so with less information about what sort of employees will be taking part in the strike.' The BMA's six-month mandate to call strike action will run out in January, when the union will have to reballot its members. Its leaders have made it clear they are prepared to keep balloting in the long haul and have said they will not back down until they are awarded a 29 per cent rise. • Doctors could have student loans written off to avert strikes Sloggett, an adviser to Matt Hancock when he was health secretary, said: 'This current strike mandate will run until January. If both sides are still dug in, then the BMA will just reballot. When Rayner's reforms kick in next year, there will be nothing to stop the BMA going on strike again — even if they don't get above 50 per cent turnout. 'If you are in Wes Streeting's shoes you need as many tools and levers as possible against the BMA. Angela Rayner is taking away one of his levers — that if turnout goes below 50 per cent they can't strike again. 'Streeting is being boxed in by Angela Rayner. Rayner's reforms will rebalance power towards the unions. We could have wave after wave of industrial action. The government has got itself into a really messy situation. 'It raises the prospect of indefinite NHS strikes rumbling on and on for years. Unions will no longer have to go through the process of reballoting every six months.' • Five deaths linked to disruption from last junior doctors' strikes He said the reforms would also give more power to other members of NHS staff threatening to strike, including nurses and hospital consultants. 'For Streeting the Employment Rights Bill is a real bind, as he can't be seen to be anti-union if he wants to secure a future labour leadership crown. But strikes will severely hamper any progress on NHS waiting lists.' A government spokesman said: 'The old strike laws clearly didn't work, with the UK losing more days to industrial action in 2022 and 2023 than in any year since the 1980s. 'Strikes have a serious cost for patients, which is why we are appealing to the BMA to call them off and work to improve working conditions and continue rebuilding the NHS. Under our plans unions will still need to provide categories of worker, workplaces affected and number of workers involved. 'We have also been clear that the intention to change the ballot turnout threshold will be aligned closely with the introduction of e-balloting to ensure that industrial action mandates have broad support.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
It's not working! Now jobless rate hits four-year high under Labour
Unemployment has surged to a four-year high as Labour's 'triple whammy' of minimum wage hikes, tax rises and workers' rights rules hit employers. Joblessness rose to 4.7 per cent in the three months to May, the highest since June 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. The number of workers on UK payrolls has fallen for five months in a row, and sank by 41,000 in June alone, the biggest monthly fall since Covid. Overall, the total has dropped by 178,000 since Labour came to power while pay growth is now at a three-year low, the ONS also revealed. It said the jobs market 'continues to weaken' and that 'some firms may not be recruiting new workers or replacing workers who have left'. Bosses from Ocado and Frasers yesterday became the latest to warn against imposing further taxes that will inflict more damage. It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves launched a £25billion raid on employer national insurance in last autumn's Budget – which took effect in April. Alongside a sharp rise in the minimum wage and plans to impose a raft of new workers' rights, it is making it more expensive to take on staff. Business groups blamed ministers for implementing policies dreamed up by 'misguided wishful thinkers'. 'Today's disturbing figures add to a weight of evidence that if you make it more expensive and riskier to give someone a job, the result will be fewer jobs,' said Tina McKenzie, of the Federation of Small Businesses. And Kallum Pickering, chief economist at broker Peel Hunt, said the jobs bloodbath was 'the consequences of a predictable error', adding: 'With each month, the negative impact of the Government's triple whammy of anti-employment policy measures... becomes clearer and clearer.' The job figures represent another black mark against the Government's record a year after it took office, with recent figures showing the economy is shrinking and warnings that Britain's debt is becoming unsustainable. Yesterday, there were further warnings of worse to come if – as feared – Ms Reeves launches a fresh tax raid on business in her next Budget this autumn as she looks to fill a multi- billion hole in the public finances. Ocado boss Tim Steiner said 'any tax increases will not be favourable to the economy or business'. And Chris Wootton, finance chief of retail group Frasers, warned of 'dark new clouds' over this autumn's Budget. Yesterday's ONS figures sketched out a grim picture of how hard-hit parts of the economy were suffering in Keir Starmer's Britain. Jobs in the hotel and restaurant sector were down by 108,000 over the past year, while tens of thousands more disappeared in retail and manufacturing. Kate Nicholls, of trade association UK Hospitality, said: 'These devastating job losses are a direct consequence of policy decisions at last year's Budget, which have disproportionately hit the hospitality sector.' Dee Corsi, at trade association High Streets UK, said the figures are a 'reminder that the growing cost of doing business has a tangible impact on the prospects of working people'. Among the few winners were public sector-dominated areas such as health and social work, with an increase of 67,000 workers since Labour took power. But Britain's sicknote crisis continues, with 2.8million on long-term leave. Annual wage growth of 5 per cent is the slowest since 2022. And accounting for inflation, real-terms growth was 1.8 per cent – down from 3.3 per cent shortly before Labour came to power. Alex Hall-Chen, at the Institute of Directors (IoD), said the slump in demand for labour is the 'result of a series of policy blows to the case for hiring staff'. IoD research shows more business chiefs plan to cut staff headcount in the next year than increase it, she said, adding: 'This situation is unlikely to improve any time soon.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Angela Rayner's reforms will crush jobs, business chiefs warn
Angela Rayner's workers' rights reforms will 'pull the ladder of employment away', the head of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has warned. Shevaun Haviland, a former No10 official, warned that more rigid employment rules meant companies could 'see their entire employment model disappear'. Rather than adjust, Ms Haviland warned many businesses would 'stop recruiting altogether'. Writing in The Telegraph, the BCC chief said: 'With nearly 1m young people unemployed, this also risks making it even harder for the next generation of workers to get their foot in the door. 'Now is the time for the Government to take a step back and act on the very genuine concerns that employers are raising about some key proposals in the Bill.' Ms Haviland also called on the Chancellor to rule out further tax rises for businesses in the autumn, saying that the combination of excessive regulation and high taxation had left companies 'wading through treacle'. The intervention comes as Labour's Employment Rights Bill is further debated in the House of Lords. The legislation, which is being overseen by Ms Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, has been called the biggest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation. The reforms include plans to make it easier for workers to strike and do their jobs from home, 'day-one' rights against unfair dismissal and a ban on zero-hours contracts. However, the scale, speed and cost of the reforms have alarmed business leaders, who fear the new rules will trigger a blizzard of tribunal claims that will tie up companies in the courts. Lord Wolfson, the boss of Next, told peers earlier this week that it also risks leaving businesses 'chronically overstaffed' by making it harder to employ part-time workers. Ms Rayner has so far resisted pressure to water down the changes. However, Labour recently extended the timeline for the implementation of the new rules in a slight concession to businesses. Stronger paternity leave rights and whistleblowing protections will be rolled out by April 2026. However, the right to take companies to court for unfair dismissal from the first day of employment, and a right for staff to work from home will now not come into force until 2027, which was later than expected. Ms Haviland said businesses still needed more time. She called on ministers to 'slow the pace of change, to give business proper time to adapt'. Opponents are desperately trying to soften the reforms before they become law, with some peers this week backing a move to keep workers on zero-hours contracts. Paul Nowak, head of the TUC unions, said peers siding with bad bosses were 'out of touch and defying the will of the public'. A Government spokesman said: 'We take the views of business groups like the BCC seriously and have worked closely with employers on our proposals to ensure the Employment Rights Bill works for both workers and businesses across the UK. 'The bill will benefit more than half of all workers in the UK and we've seen 380,000 jobs added since the start of this Parliament. We remain committed to ensuring our Plan for Change delivers economic growth and secures jobs for working people.' The Government is going too far and too fast By Shevaun Haviland, British Chamber of Commerce director general Later this year, the Government will pass the most far-reaching employment law changes in nearly three decades. In that moment, it will set in motion reforms that will affect every business and every worker. No company will be left untouched. The ambition is immense, and the Government is absolutely right to push for the best deal for British workers. But at the British Chambers of Commerce we represent tens of thousands of businesses up and down the country. I talk to them every day, and there is one message they keep giving back to me: they're worried. They're worried about reforms they feel they were never properly consulted on – changes that could fundamentally alter their business models or make it harder to talk to their own workers. Above all, they're worried about the speed with which the changes are coming. In our recent survey, 77pc of businesses said they thought the pace of implementation was wrong. Because business plans for the long-term. When the Government talks about giving a year to adapt, it thinks it's being generous. In reality, that's a significant challenge for businesses, especially SMEs, who might see their entire employment model disappear. Don't just take my word for it. Instead, listen to the manufacturer in the East Midlands who told us they can't afford 'extensive background checks or HR support' as a small business. For them, these reforms add to the cost, complexity and risk of employing people. So, their answer to the Government's plan to give employees access to slow and expensive employment tribunals on their first day is simple: they'll stop recruiting altogether. Just think about that. The Government is pushing ahead with legislation that will pull the ladder of employment away from those trying to get into the job market. And with nearly 1m young people unemployed, this also risks making it even harder for the next generation of workers to get their foot in the door. Meanwhile, it is also pledging the most radical overhaul of trade union laws in a generation. Good industrial relations are vital, and every employee deserves fair rights at work. But the Employment Rights Bill makes it easier to call strikes, and faster to carry them out. As the legislation stands, just 2pc of the workforce would need to be in a union for it to gain recognition. And it is doing all of this when just 2pc of firms think that more trade union involvement would have a beneficial impact on their business and its workforce. So, it can't be any surprise that nearly four fifths of businesses have told us they don't think the Government has properly assessed the impact of its policies. We agree. The additional cost of all of this is a major concern. When the Government did its initial assessment of the plans, it estimated the cost to business stood at £5bn. This cost is being piled on top of the billions already being taken from firms by the increase in National Insurance. Nearly a year on, with the Government's focus now turning to implementation, we remain no less concerned about the costs to business and firms' ability to cope with the enormous scale of changes to come. Now is the time for the Government to take a step back and act on the very genuine concerns employers are raising about some key proposals in the Bill. It should remove counterproductive provisions on trade union thresholds and ensure employers have legal rights to dismiss new employees who are underperforming, without an employment tribunal. It needs to properly assess the costs it is going to impose. And it should slow the pace of change, to give business proper time to adapt. And, as we look to the Budget in autumn, we have one message for the Chancellor: no new taxes on business. The increase in employer National Insurance contributions has stopped businesses investing in growth, and the Employment Rights Bill is yet another burden. British business has the power to be the engine of growth for our economy, but right now companies feel like they are wading through treacle. It cannot continue. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. 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