ROWING back on workers’ rights pledges is a “red line” not to be crossed, trade union leaders warned Labour today.

They spoke out amid mounting concern that the party’s next policy U-turn will be to weaken the commitments in its New Deal for Working People, first adopted in 2021.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stressed that any dilution of the policy would be a “red line” for her union.

“Choosing May Day to give notice of watering down your promise to overhaul one of the worst sets of employment rights in Europe is beyond irony.

“If Labour do not explicitly recommit to what they have already pledged, namely that the New Deal for Workers will be delivered in full within the first 100 days of office, then a red line will be crossed,” she said.

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack, who is this year’s TUC president, added: “My message is very clear, no rolling back… if there is any more rolling back on the new deal, they can expect a hostile reaction.”

The party originally promised to legislate on the new deal within 100 days of assuming office, but this pledge is now riddled with loopholes and delays to allow consultation with business, according to reports in the Financial Times quoting happy employers’ lobbyists.

A party spokesperson insisted that Labour’s “commitments to bring forward legislation to Parliament within 100 days to deliver the new deal and to consult widely on implementation have not changed.”

Some Labour MPs insist that the plans have not been diluted, but party leader Sir Keir Starmer’s credibility on policy consistency is non-existent.