PM SIR Keir Starmer is facing internal pressure to water down Angela Rayner’s hardline pro-union laws after her resignation.
Senior Labour figures — including within the Cabinet — want the Employment Rights Bill scaled back amid the threat of more strikes.
GettySir Keir Starmer is facing internal pressure to water down the Employment Rights Bill[/caption]
LNPLabour figures want to scale back Angela Rayner’s hardline pro-union laws after her resignation[/caption]
The flagship legislation scraps the 50 per cent turnout threshold a union ballot must reach to trigger lawful industrial action.
It also increases a union’s mandate to call strikes from six to 12 months following a successful membership vote.
With more pay disputes looming, insiders are pushing to amend the Bill ahead of its final passage through the Lords.
A top Labour figure said: “There is a growing realisation that, in its current form, the Bill is going to cause us a world of pain.”
Last night, Downing Street sources insisted the Prime Minister remained committed to the legislation in its entirety.
Despite the departure of Ms Rayner — the Bill’s primary champion — gutting it would still spark a row from Labour’s trade union paymasters.
Trades Union Congress boss Paul Nowak, on the eve of his conference in Brighton today, demanded the package is not diluted. Business bosses are also agitating to strip the Bill of red tape.
UK Hospitality’s Kate Nicholls said: “The Government’s own estimate of the costs of the Employment Rights Bill is over £5billion.
“Once again, this will disproportionately fall on community pubs and neighbourhood restaurants who are already grappling with a £3.4billion tax bombshell.
“Making it more costly and harder to provide flexible pathways to work is not the way to get the economy growing.
“We urge the Government to take a pragmatic approach.”
Last night, the Tories wrote a letter to the new Business Secretary, Peter Kyle, urging him to ditch the “disastrous” reforms.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: “Rather than proceed at this time with a measure which on the government’s own impact assessment will reduce employment and growth, now is the time to put the national interest first.
“Any credible ‘reset’ of this government requires that this Bill be shelved — and that the Government look afresh at measures to promote the growth and competitiveness of the UK economy.”
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