Most respondents said employees should have more security at work and agreed that strengthened employment rights would improve employee health and help retain staff. Stronger employment rights would also boost productivity and have a positive impact on business profitability, according to the survey’s results.
Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “Usdaw, along with many trade unions, campaigned for a deal for workers and we were delighted that it became a central part of Labour’s landslide-winning manifesto. It is no surprise to me, although very welcome, that employers support the measures that Labour announced in the King’s Speech and will deliver through the Employment Bill. We know that good employers want decent minimum employment standards to stop rogue employers undercutting them by exploiting workers.
“A key part of securing economic growth and improving productivity is providing secure, well-paid jobs, where staff are respected and appreciated. Labour’s commitment will deliver those aims by making the minimum wage a real living wage, ending rip-off youth rates, giving workers the right to a contract that reflects their normal hours of work and reforming sick pay to provide proper support when employees are too ill to work, along with many other important measures to improve workers’ lives.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “There is a big disconnect between some of the more siren voices in the business community and the reality on the ground. This polling shows there is large-scale support for boosting workers’ rights among company managers and decision-makers. They are the ones talking to their staff members every day and they know their workforces do a better job when they are happy and more secure at work.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. They bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions www.tuc.org.uk
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) >is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society www.ippr.org
Persuasion UK is a non-partisan, not-for-profit research initiative which aims to understand what's shaping public opinion on the issues that define British politics. They also study the way electoral battlegrounds are changing. https://persuasionuk.org
Strengthening the foundations: Why employers support stronger workers’ rights - www.ippr.org/articles/strengthening-the-foundations-why-employers-support-stronger-workers-rights
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter/X @UsdawUnion