I declare an interest as a proud member of Unite the union and GMB. It is great to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery).
May I start by saying how outrageous it is that we have only five hours to debate this extremely important and dangerous legislation? As has been mentioned many times before, there have been well over 100 amendments tabled to the Bill, showing its numerous flaws. In the brief time I have, I will touch on a few.
First, on the retention of protections against unfair dismissal, as covered by amendment 1, too many people already have very little protection in that regard. When I was a trade union official, I frequently represented members whose unscrupulous employers sought to dismiss employees because they dared to challenge their working conditions. I recall in particular one member who had MS and had to work with bank notes, which triggered her condition. Rather than looking into redeploying her to a more suitable position, the employer sought to dismiss her. To add insult to injury, she was a trade union rep herself and had often stood up for other members. Sadly, the laws this Government are seeking to water down further did not protect her.
8.15 pm
Amendment 4 introduces a requirement on the Government to publish impact assessments on the regulations. We all know that the Government are not a fan of publishing impact assessments. We know from experience of asking Ministers about the impact of their policies that they are not always forthcoming. Anyone could be mistaken for thinking at times that they have got something to hide. Being open and transparent is what makes better policies, better politics, and a better Government.
Amendment 3 will introduce a requirement on the Secretary of State to undertake a review of health and safety levels in the affected sectors before making the minimum service level regulations. We know the public sector is at breaking point. We know we have a recruitment crisis in schools, social care and the NHS. We know people are being made to work to the bone trying to maintain standards, yet the Government seemingly want to have some of those people work longer and harder if their colleagues go out on strike without a review of health and safety levels. It is clear that we need transparency. We need to know that frontline workers, employers and the Government can have faith in any new regulations before they are published.
When I first started working at the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union, we used to have a thing called partnership agreements. Some worked well, others not so well. The key to their success was the employer and the trade union genuinely working together to ensure the best outcomes. There was a recognition that a successful workplace meant motivated employees who could be rewarded when the company was doing well, and issues around health and safety or staff morale could be solved. That was essentially collective bargaining, which is what takes place now in the public sector. Trade unions and employers already negotiate service levels when disputes take place. That is what needs to happen now. Ministers need to get round the table with the trade unions and negotiate a deal, instead of introducing shoddy, ill-thought-through legislation that will only cause further disharmony in the already stretched and overworked public sector.
The trade union movement is open and transparent. Trade union money is some of the cleanest in politics, which is more than can be said for other areas. Unions ballot to appoint a general secretary. They ballot for their committees. They ballot to have a political fund—something companies do not do when donating money to their favoured politicians or political parties. They ballot for industrial action, with some of the highest
thresholds and legal barriers in the world. What else do trade unions do? They represent workers, they fight to protect workers and they seek to ensure that businesses are successful, so that their members can also benefit. Instead of bringing forward legislation to attack trade unions and workers, we should be listening to and working with them. I am proud to say that a future Labour Government will always do just that.