When people think of the priorities of the Liberal Democrats, they may not immediately think of employment rights, compared to the focus on health and care, or on Europe. But reading last year’s manifesto, the degree of attention paid to this issue would surprise many. The manifesto that delivered such a resounding result for the party included a commitment to ensure “the highest possible standards” of labour protection, alongside individual measures on zero hours contracts, sick pay, and more.
Such language isn’t a surprise to me or to the trade union I lead. As a politically independent union, Prospect has a long history of working with Liberal Democrats, and we know that concern for worker’s rights isn’t confined to one corner of the political spectrum. That is why I am confident that the Liberal Democrats, and especially Lib Dem peers, will play a positive role in the next stages of the Employment Rights Bill.
The Bill has clearly been the subject of considerable commentary, and the number of amendments reflects the extensive discussion that has taken place between government, business and trade unions. At its heart though, the Bill remains a vehicle for tackling some of the worst abuses in our labour market, guaranteeing individual and collective rights, and setting us back on a path to a high growth and high productivity economy based on positive employment relations. All of these aims fit squarely within the Liberal Democrat tradition, as does the way that the Bill assists with the immediate challenge we face in health and care which is rightly the party’s priority.
The headlines here will of course be about the way the Bill seeks to tackle our broken sick pay system which was horribly exposed by the Covid pandemic, and the move towards solving the workforce crisis in social care by introducing a new Fair Pay Agreement. This is a necessary, though clearly not sufficient, step towards fixing this broken system and I know Lib Dems will continue to campaign on this issue.
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