ANGELA RAYNER defended the Employment Rights Bill today after being told workers across the country need “immediate” protection from fire and rehire.
The Deputy Prime Minister talked up her trade union roots as she introduced the second reading of the landmark legislation to the Commons.
She however dodged a question when challenged to provide details on when its landmark employment reforms on unfair dismissal would be introduced by Labour MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr Steve Witherden.
He said more than 500 Unite members working for Oscar Mayer went on strike in September due to fire and rehire plans that would leave them up to £3,000 worse off every year.
Mr Witherden said that “immediate action is crucial to protect my constituents and workers across the UK from such exploitative practices,” calling for “clarity on the timescales for reforms for unfair dismissal.”
Ms Rayner insisted “we’ve moved at pace,” pointing to the Tory failure to deliver an employment Bill.
MPs debated the measures after government impact assessments published today found its 28 employment reforms will increase business wage costs by only up to 0.4 per cent.
Ms Rayner also batted away Tory claims that its measures would hurt small to medium-sized businesses, adding that the legislation will end P&O Ferries-style mass sacking scandals.
She said: “Never again will any company be able to get away scot-free with exploiting a loophole to sack employees without notice –no longer will our seas be a byword for a race to the bottom on standards.”
Earlier, Ms Rayner told MPs that the Bill was “personal for me,” telling of how she began her working life in low-paid and insecure care work.
“That fear stuck with me – of not being able to provide for my young family or losing everything,” she said.
Commenting on the impact on businesses, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Despite repeated attempts to paint this Bill as bad for business, this rigorous impact assessment shows that the business costs are negligible and are more than offset by the wider economic and social gains.
“These changes will mostly affect those companies whose business models have been built on low-paid, insecure employment.
“Decent employers will welcome these measures and the improvements they will bring for their businesses and workforces.”
