“If we genuinely want economic growth that benefits working people, then we need stronger workplace democracy alongside stronger investment.”
Sarah Woolley, General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, spoke at an event in Parliament hosted by the Institute for Employment Rights on what the change in Labour leadership means for employment rights. You can read her speech in full below.
I come to this discussion wearing two hats. Firstly, as General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union, representing thousands of workers who produce, process and distribute the food that keeps this country running. Secondly, as Vice-Chair of the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom, which for decades has campaigned for the restoration of fundamental trade union and workplace rights.
The title of today’s meeting asks whether an imminent change in the leadership of the Labour Party could create the political space to finish the job on labour rights. I sincerely hope the answer is yes.
Because whilst the Employment Rights Act represented the most significant advance in workers’ rights for a generation, none of us would claim it completed the task. It was an important first chapter, not the final one.
As trade unionists, we welcomed measures that many workers had waited years, if not decades, to see. Stronger protections from unfair dismissal, improved rights for working people and greater recognition of the role of trade unions all represent genuine progress. But we also know that many of the commitments contained within Labour’s original New Deal for Working People didn’t make it into the final legislation and, in cases like Zero Hours contracts and fire and rehire, still have too many loopholes that employers can exploit.
From where I stand, representing food workers across the UK, the need for the areas that were left out, or watered down, certainly hasn’t disappeared.
Every week I speak to members who tell me that they still feel powerless at work. Workers who are frightened to raise safety concerns, whose pay is still held down despite record corporate profits. Workers who know they deserve better but don’t always have the collective strength to secure it.
The Employment Rights Act has helped. But it hasn’t yet fundamentally shifted the balance of power in our workplaces. And that matters.
Because every major improvement in living standards in this country has happened when workers have been able to organise collectively. Nothing has been gifted from enlightened employers. Things have been won because working people were part of strong trade unions.
That’s why I believe an Employment Rights Bill Number Two isn’t simply desirable; it is necessary, and the four areas, in the blurb for the meeting, are where I believe the Government has an opportunity to complete what was started under a new leader. The first is repealing the remaining anti-trade union legislation. The UK still has some of the most restrictive trade union laws anywhere in Europe.
Many of these laws were introduced not because strikes were out of control, but because governments wanted to weaken organised labour. The cumulative effect has been to make it harder for workers to defend themselves and harder for unions to organise effectively.
If we genuinely believe freedom of association is a democratic right, then we should also believe that unnecessary legal barriers to collective action should be removed. Democracy doesn’t stop at the factory gate.
The second area is statutory support for sectoral collective bargaining. This is something I feel particularly strongly about. Food manufacturing provides a perfect example. Companies compete aggressively with one another.
Too often that competition comes through holding wages down, squeezing staffing levels or cutting corners rather than investing in productivity. Sector-wide bargaining changes those incentives.
Instead of businesses competing over who can pay workers the least, they compete through innovation, quality and investment.
Countries with stronger sectoral bargaining arrangements generally experience lower inequality, better productivity and more stable industrial relations. It benefits workers, responsible employers and ultimately it benefits the wider economy.
The third area is restoring a meaningful right to strike, including the ability to take solidarity action. No worker wants to lose pay by taking industrial action. Nobody joins a union because they enjoy striking. Strikes happen because all other routes have failed. The right to withdraw your labour is not an inconvenience to democracy.
It is an essential part of democracy, and the current restrictions, appreciating the fact that the restrictions I am referring to now don’t cover the additional restrictions that the POA have to deal with, don’t simply affect unions.
They distort bargaining itself. Employers negotiate differently when they know workers have fewer options available. Restoring a genuine right to strike for everyone would encourage meaningful negotiation long before disputes escalate.
The final issue is creating a single status of worker. For too long we’ve allowed employers to divide people into different legal categories with different levels of protection. The world of work has changed dramatically.
Agency workers, Platform workers. Gig economy workers. Casual workers. Contractors. Many perform exactly the same jobs alongside permanent colleagues but enjoy fewer rights.
That simply cannot be justified. If someone works, they deserve workplace rights. It really should be that simple.
Of course, some people will argue that these reforms would burden business. I hear that argument every single time workers’ rights are discussed. But we heard it about the minimum wage, about paid holidays. We heard it about maternity rights and health and safety legislation.
And yet businesses adapted. The economy adapted, and society became a little fairer with each introduction
The evidence has repeatedly shown that good employers already behave well. Strong employment law simply prevents bad employers from undercutting everybody else, and we know this happens, especially when there is no recognised union in place.
Good employers have nothing to fear from good employment rights. In fact, many stand to benefit.
As General Secretary of BFAWU, one of the things that concerns me most is the growing disconnect between work and living standards.
Many of the people producing our nation’s food increasingly struggle to afford food themselves. That should shame all of us. No one working full time should have to rely on food banks. No one should have to skip meals because wages don’t stretch far enough. No one should have to choose between heating and eating after a full week’s work.
That isn’t simply an issue of poverty. It is an issue of power. Where workers have strong collective bargaining, wages are higher. Where unions are stronger, inequality is lower. Where collective voice exists, exploitation becomes harder. Employment rights are therefore not separate from economic policy.
They are central to economic policy. If we genuinely want economic growth that benefits working people, then we need stronger workplace democracy alongside stronger investment. Growth alone is never enough if its rewards are distributed unfairly.
As politicians consider the next chapter of this Parliament, I would simply urge you not to view the Employment Rights Act as the destination. View it as the foundation. Because there is absolutely an opportunity now to finish what was started.
To deliver the remaining commitments from the New Deal for Working People. To build a labour market based not on insecurity, but on dignity. Not on exploitation, but on fairness. Not on weakening collective voice, but strengthening it.
Finally, if I may make one additional plea.
Alongside my roles with BFAWU and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom, I also serve as Vice-Chair of the Right to Food Commission.
One of the clearest lessons emerging from our work is that food insecurity is no longer simply a social security issue. It is increasingly a workplace issue. Too many people are going hungry despite being in work. Too many food workers cannot afford the very products they help to produce, and plenty of other workers are struggling too.
That is why we believe the right to food and strong employment rights must go hand in hand. Good jobs are one of the strongest defences against hunger. Strong trade unions are one of the strongest defences against poor jobs.
And a country as wealthy as ours should be able to guarantee both.
Thank you.
- Sarah Woolley is the General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU). You can follow her on Twitter/X; and follow the BFAWU on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram.
- You can follow the Institute of Employment Rights on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.
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