Unions demand no retreat on workers' rights after Rayner quits

Union leaders are demanding nary eleventh-hour retreat by the authorities connected workers' rights present their champion Angela Rayner is nary longer successful the cabinet.

As delegates stitchery successful Brighton for the TUC's yearly conference, the movement's enactment is claiming 4 cardinal radical - 1 successful 8 of the UK workforce - are successful "pervasive" insecure work.

And national bosses are urging the authorities to basal steadfast and cull attempts by Tories and Liberal Democrats to weaken the erstwhile lawman premier minister's Employment Rights Bill successful its last stages successful parliament.

The TUC's wide secretary, Paul Nowak, has claimed Ms Rayner, who resigned connected Friday implicit unpaid stamp work connected a seaside flat, was a unfortunate of misogyny and was being hounded retired by right-wing politicians and right-wing media.

As good arsenic Ms Rayner leaving the government, the different curate driving the measure done parliament, Jonathan Reynolds, was demoted successful Sir Keir Starmer's furniture reshuffle from the elder station of concern caput to main whip.

Until past week, Ms Rayner had been expected to present the keynote Labour Party code astatine the TUC connected Tuesday, but it emerged midweek that the acquisition secretary, Bridget Phillipson, would beryllium the speaker.

However, successful Friday's reshuffle she mislaid work for big skills - a cardinal contented for the unions - to the caller enactment and pensions caput Pat McFadden, who volition present caput a new, beefed-up super-ministry promoting growth.

And ironically, the TUC league successful Brighton is taking spot little than 2 miles from the luxury seaside level successful Hove, connected which Ms Rayner's avoidance of £40,000 successful stamp work led to her resignation arsenic lawman PM, lodging caput and Labour lawman leader.

Just earlier parliament's summertime recess, the House of Lords backed by 304 votes to 160 a Tory-led amendment to Ms Rayner's measure to trim the qualifying play for unfair dismissal claims from 2 years to six months, alternatively than from time one, arsenic projected by Ms Rayner.

Third speechmaking of the measure successful the Lords was past Wednesday, the time of Ms Rayner's Sky News confession, and the measure is present acceptable for parliamentary ping-pong, assuming the authorities overturns the Lords' amendments successful the Commons.

But successful a pre-conference interrogation with Sky News, TUC main and Rayner protagonist Mr Nowak demanded nary diluting of her bill, which besides includes banning zero hours contracts which exploit workers and occurrence and rehire.

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"We are present astatine a important signifier successful the transportation of the Employment Rights Bill, conscionable weeks distant from Royal Assent," said Mr Nowak. "And our wide connection to the authorities volition beryllium to present the measure and present it successful full.

"Ignore the amendments from the unelected peers, Tory and Lib Dem peers successful the House of Lords, that are aimed astatine gutting the legislation, weakening workers' rights.

"Stand with the British public, present decent employment rights. That's important successful workplaces up and down the country, but it's important due to the fact that these are proposals that are fashionable with the British nationalist arsenic well."

The TUC says its investigation shows low-paid jobs successful occupations specified arsenic the care, leisure and work sectors relationship for 77% of the summation successful insecure jobs since 2011.

Black and taste number taste workers relationship for 70% of the detonation successful insecure work, according to the TUC, and southwest England and Yorkshire and Humber are insecure enactment hotspots.

Mr Nowak told Sky News: "We've got good implicit a cardinal radical present connected zero-hours contracts. We've got millions of radical who don't person sick wage from time 1 and 70% of the kids who unrecorded successful poorness person parents who spell retired to work.

"The authorities is perfectly close to beryllium focused connected making enactment pay. And the Employment Rights Bill is astir putting much wealth successful the pockets of moving people, giving radical much information astatine work.

"That's bully for workers, but it's besides bully for bully employers arsenic well, truthful they're not undercut by the cowboys."

Speaking to Sky News past Wednesday, soon aft Ms Rayner's tearful confession to Sky's governmental exertion Beth Rigby, Mr Nowak said: "There's a existent dense dose of misogyny erstwhile it comes to Angela.

"Angela Rayner is playing a truly important relation successful authorities and I wouldn't privation to spot her hounded retired of an important relation by right-wing politicians and the right-wing media, who frankly can't grip the information that a working-class pistillate is our lawman premier minister."