Brendan Barber: workers will gain from a Labour victory

The TUC has published its pre-election review of the main party manifestos, concluding that women workers have the most to gain or lose on May 5.

The union body also warned voters that Conservative plans might inadvertently make Britain's "compensation culture" worse.

The TUC delivers a kind verdict on Labour proposals on extending holiday rights, saying they will benefit 2.9 million workers, the majority of whom will be women.

Women would also be the main beneficiaries of Labour's proposed increases in the minimum wage.

There is also praise for increases in maternity leave and extending childcare.

But as would be expected the Conservative plans come in for strong criticism from the TUC, which says they will hit workers' rights, especially those of women workers.

The TUC blasts the party for committing to withdraw from the EU social chapter, claiming this will take away rights to maternity leave, emergency compassionate leave and rights to information and consultation about key company decisions.

Compensation Culture

The TUC also came to the conclusion that Conservative plans to introduce costs into employment tribunals would, in the long term, bring the "compensation culture" to workplace disputes.

The Tories have a long record of stridently opposing the growth in litigation, which the party says has been fuelled by the Human Rights Act.

But the TUC says: "The Conservative proposal to introduce costs into employment tribunals will, as the party no doubt intends, deter employees from taking cases in the short term.

"But in the longer term would encourage claims farms to extend their operations to employment tribunals thus increasing what the Conservatives have called 'compensation culture' to employment relations.

"At present most cases in employment tribunals do not involve the award of costs - a regime designed to keep cases informal and deter employers and applicants from using expensive legal representation.

"The awards of costs will for the first time make encouraging wronged employees to take cases a business model."

Lib Dems

The TUC attacked Liberal Democrats for making only "modest and vague" commitments on workers' rights.

There was a welcome for the party's policies to extend consultation rights to workers employed by firms with fewer than 50 workers, but the TUC criticised the lack of detail on how they would work.

The TUC also welcomed the Lib Dem commitment to protecting homeworkers.

Battleground issues

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said it was no surprise that the Conservatives wished to take employment rights backwards.

"It is striking that the battleground issues will overwhelmingly affect women at work - particularly the low paid," he said.

"Many say there is little or no difference between the parties, but this analysis shows that millions of low paid women workers stand to gain or lose from the outcome of this election.

"Conservative plans to award costs in routine tribunal cases is clearly designed to deter employees from bring cases, but they may have exactly the opposite effect when the day time TV adverts from the claims industry start."