The Manifesto - in ten points

The Manifesto has now been updated to form the Manifesto for Labour Law - supported by the Labour Party and major unions across the UK - click here to find out more

1. A Ministry of Labour should be established to give working people a voice in government to counteract the voice of powerful corporate interests. One of the duties of the new department will be to promote collective bargaining;

 

2. Legislation should be introduced to delegate from the proposed Ministry of Labour to ACAS (or a similar body) the duty to encourage the establishment of sectoral collective bargaining;

 

3. The legislation should include measures designed to oblige all employers to participate in these arrangements, including a provision that participation is a pre-condition of the award of all public contracts;

 

4. The legislation relating to sectoral bargaining should make provision for the determination of pay and other working conditions, provide procedures for the resolution of disputes, and deal with skills, training and productivity;

 

5. The legislation relating to sectoral bargaining should provide for the legalisation of sectoral agreements, so that the appropriate terms of the agreements in question become inderogable terms and conditions of all workers in the sector;

 

6. The legislation relating to sectoral bargaining should include a power vested in the CAC to resolve disputes about sectoral boundaries, and to determine which collective agreement is applicable to which employer in case of disputes;

 

7. The statutory scheme providing for sectoral bargaining should be implemented gradually and flexibly, the agencies responsible for its development being empowered to respond to the specific needs of each sector; in industries without the apparent infrastructure to support collective bargaining, wages councils should be instituted;

 

8. There should be an overhaul of the statutory recognition procedure so that trade unions are entitled to be recognised by an employer on demonstrating 10% membership and evidence of majority support verified by the CAC;

 

9. When that threshold for recognition on behalf of a defined bargaining unit is not met there should be a statutory right of every trade union to recognition by an employer to bargain on behalf of its members;

 

10. The existing statutory right to be accompanied should be overhauled so that every worker has the right to be represented by his or her trade union on all matters relating to his or her employment.

In our new publication Reconstruction after the crisis: a manifesto for collective bargaining, the Institute of Employment Rights argues that collective bargaining is the solution to income inequality and creating a stronger and more resilient economy. Our manifesto is backed by a number of major unions. Use our infographic to find out more.

Press resources

Please note:

The IER will be releasing further information on its Manifesto for Collective Bargaining and related materials in the run up to the launch.

Please find our summary and newsletter here and the flyer for the event here