23 August 2016

Jeremy Corbyn has promised to strengthen trade union powers, including by introducing mandatory collective bargaining for larger firms if Labour wins the next election.

The Labour leader said the new law would apply to companies with over 250 employees as part of wider reform that he promised would “democratise our country from the ground up”.

“Decisions in Britain are overwhelmingly taken from the top down. And that’s crucial to why our country is run in the interests of a privileged few.

“Labour under my leadership will listen to ideas from the bottom up – and take radical action to transform and rebuild our country so that no one and no community is left behind,” he said.

Corbyn also promised to strengthen individual rights for workers, sectoral collective bargaining and representation for workers at executive renumeration committees, as part of plans to provide people with a “real say” in the workplace.

We are delighted to see that the direction Labour are taking chimes with the spirit of the policy recommendations we submitted to the Party in our Manifesto for Labour Law.

The Manifesto’s principle proposal is to shift the balance of regulation from legislation to collective bargaining. Its 25 policy recommendations centre on building extensive sectoral collective bargaining structures underpinned by strong trade union rights and strengthened statutory employment rights.

This would bring Britain’s labour model further in line with that of the UK’s major European competitors, the majority of which negotiate wages and working conditions at a sectoral level through the process of collective bargaining between trade unions and employers’ federations.

Read more about our Manifesto and purchase your copy