24 April 2017

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to remove the Tories’ highly contentious Trade Union Act as one of his first acts of parliament if the populace votes Labour at the next General Election.

In a speech to the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) today (24 April 2017), he will promise delegates that his Party “will never, ever apologise for the closeness of our relationship with the trade union movement”.

“…one of the very first things we will do when forming our Labour Government will be to repeal the vicious Tory Trade Union Act. Giving people the rights to collectively organise and make their lives better, safer and more content,” he added.

“The choice facing the country is clear. It’s the people versus the powerful. Labour will challenge the rigged system that is holding our country back. And just like trade unions, we will stand for the many not the few,” he said.

The Institute of Employment Rights welcomes this promise to repeal the Trade Union Act, which is one of the recommendations we make in our Manifesto for Labour Law – 25 proposals for the reform of employment law that together could mark the turning point for inequality.

We now call on the Labour Party to go further than simply overturning anti-trade union laws and proactively create new legislation to promote democracy in the workplace. We argue that collective bargaining at sectoral and enterprise levels provides workers with a forum to negotiate for better pay and conditions across their industries; while stronger statutory rights and a more robust system for enforcing the law are also required.

Click here to read more about our Manifesto for Labour Law and purchase your copy