David Lepper

Labour Party | Brighton Pavilion

How Labour has strengthened employees' rights

Article for GMB Branch Newsletter
David Lepper - Labour and Co-operative MP, Brighton Pavilion

Meeting GMB Members at Hollingdean recently I outlined how the Labour government had tackled unemployment and low pay and strengthened employees' rights at work.

Our Employment Relations Act guarantees your right to:

• be represented by your union in a disciplinary or grievance hearing.
• Have your union recognised by the employer in negotiations if the majority of employees want it.
• Claim compensation if you are discriminated against at work or when applying for a job because of your trade union activities.
• Take up to 18 weeks maternity leave and unpaid leave for family emergencies such as caring for a child or elderly parent.

The Working Hours Directive tackles unreasonable hours. The GMB's local campaign on behalf of call centre staff shows how the new regulations enable a union to campaign on improving working conditions and recruit.

As Ian McCartney MP, who steered this legislation through the House of Commons, said the Government “cannot do the TUs' job for them. It is up to you to organise and recruit. The law cannot do that”. But the law has set a framework which shows the benefits of union membership.

Labour's good economic management has brought stability and - with our New Deal offering training for people out of work - unemployment is now at its lowest for 25 years.

For the first time ever in this country we now have a National Minimum Wage. I think it should be higher than £4.10, but we shouldn't forget that across Brighton and Hove some 5,000 plus people had their pay packets boosted by it.

It's not only the National Minimum Wage that helps people on low pay. The Working Families Tax Credit helps nearly 1,000 people in my constituency, there's been the biggest ever rise in Child Benefit and, from April, the Childrens' Tax Credit can mean up to £520 a year more for many families.

All this helps especially the people who suffered from the boom and bust of the Tory years when firms were closing down, people lost their jobs – and house repossessions reached record levels. None of us want to return to that.