AN EARLY day motion moved by Labour MP Faisal Rashid that would see restrictions on trade union access to workplaces lifted received its second reading today.

Mr Rashid pointed to New Zealand’s employment relations amendment act passed last year that ensures companies provide unions with a space to meet staff and pays staff for reasonable time spent with their union rep, so long as unions give them some notice that they are visiting.

But some firms in Britain bent over backwards to stop unions accessing staff, he charged, reporting the case of a worker from north London called Mohamed who was “excited at the prospect of working alongside his colleagues to improve basic things at work, like getting his shifts 10 days in advance so that he can plan his life” but was told by McDonald’s management he was banned from every store in the area.