Usdaw condemns peers for voting down Employment Rights bill

Usdaw has condemned Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords for voting against various parts of the Employment Rights Bill, sending it back to the House of Commons.

Tory and Lib Dem peers voted against measures surrounding zero-hours contracts, unfair dismissal from day one, industrial action ballot thresholds and union members paying political levies.

Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said the decision was “staggering” and called on MPs to reverse the changes when the bill lands back in the Commons.

Peers voted by 302 votes to 159 against Labour’s move to force employers to offer guaranteed hours to those on zero-hour contracts. The Lords also voted against plans to allow workers to take employers to tribunal for unfair dismissal from day one in a new job.

Furthermore, peers defeated plans to remove the 50% turnout threshold for an industrial action ballot of trade union members to be valid and a move to sign up new trade union members automatically to pay a political levy.

Thomas said: “It is staggering that opposition peers have decided that it is ok to unfairly dismiss a worker without any recourse to an employment tribunal. Labour had rightly proposed to end the two-year service qualification for challenging an unfair dismissal and make sure that employers have to act fairly from day one. Under the Government’s proposal, employers would still be able to dismiss a worker if it is done fairly and through a proper process.

“We urge the Government to defend the Bill from this unwarranted attack by rejecting the Lords amendments when it comes back to the House of Commons. Making work more secure was clearly a key part of Labour’s manifesto, which was widely supported by voters in last year’s landslide general election win. It is unbecoming of unelected Tories and Lib Dems to go against the expressed will of the people.”

Lib Dem Lord Fox said: “We share ministers’ aims on making sure that every employee has the right to guaranteed hours moving from zero-hours, guaranteed hours. For the smaller and medium-sized employer it is an added burden that doesn’t need to be there if the employee does not wish to leave zero hours. The aim of this amendment is to make sure that both sides are managed well, and both sides have the opportunity to change.”

The bill will now return to the Commons to be voted on before returning to the Lords once more.