Received from: BFAWU, Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Motions 33 and amendment, and 34
The TUC believes that the coronavirus crisis highlights the need for a ‘New Deal for Workers’ that includes:
i. a real living wage: we need the national minimum wage immediately increased to £10 per hour for all workers regardless of age and we call for £15 per hour for all workers – we need working people to be able to live and not simply survive
ii. minimum contracts of at least 16 hours per week for all workers who want it; a right to a ‘normal hours’ contract that reflects the hours that are regularly worked; and a ban on zero-hours contracts
iii. increasing statutory sick pay to a worker’s normal pay, to be paid from day one of absence; the lower earnings limit that means low paid workers are not entitled to SSP to be abolished
iv. protection at work legislation that would make it a specific offence to assault public-facing workers
v. universal credit to be replaced by a social security system that supports low paid workers
vi. stronger protections for workers, from day one of employment, against redundancy and dismissal
vii. fair treatment and equal pay: many frontline key workers are women whose jobs have been undervalued and underpaid for too long – we need more affordable childcare and improved family-friendly rights
viii. more support for BME workers who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus and the crisis
ix. stronger trade union rights so that all workers can benefit from a union voice at work
x. a Ministry of Labour and Labour Inspectorate to ensure that workers have a voice at the cabinet table: a single enforcement agency should be adequately funded to deal with individual employment rights issues.
Mover: Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Seconder: Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union
Supporter: Unite