TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak has praised Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s early progress in government and backed Labour’s action on exploitative zero-hours contracts, in his latest column for the Sunday Mirror.
Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Nowak argued that Labour’s employment reforms would give workers greater security while ensuring responsible employers were not undercut by businesses relying on poor employment practices.
Zero in on bad bosses
Under the headline “Zero in on bad bosses”, Nowak took aim at critics of plans to tackle exploitative zero-hours contracts.
He said:
“The usual suspects were up in arms this week about plans to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts.
“Their problem? Bad bosses will no longer be able to cancel shifts at the last minute without compensating workers.”
Nowak said workers would gain the right to guaranteed shifts rather than going from week to week without knowing their hours or how much they would be paid.
He argued that the changes would provide greater financial security, particularly for workers who currently risk losing significant amounts of income when shifts are cancelled.
Nowak wrote:
“Sensible changes which will give workers more security. Too often, costs to workers are ignored in favour of handwringing over hypothetical costs to bad employers.”
He added that a worker facing three cancelled shifts in a year could lose around £3,000 in income.
The TUC chief also argued that the reforms would benefit responsible businesses by preventing them from being undercut by competitors relying on insecure employment practices.
He said the changes would “help to level the playing field for good employers – and stop the cowboys”.
Burnham is making strides
Elsewhere in his Sunday Mirror column, Nowak contrasted the early record of Burnham’s government with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Under the headline “Joke’s on clown Nige”, Nowak pointed to Labour measures on household bills, transport, businesses and employment as evidence that the new Prime Minister was beginning to make progress.
He wrote:
“While Farage has spent the Summer arguing with a bin, Andy Burnham has got to work cutting energy bills, capping bus fares, and reducing business rates for pubs and clubs.”
Nowak also highlighted Labour’s commitment to ending rough sleeping and supporting young people back into work.
He added:
“No gimmicks. Just honest work to improve people’s lives across the country.”
Further action needed
However, the TUC General Secretary said Burnham would need to go further in the months ahead, including taking further action to bring down household energy bills.
Reindustrialisation
Nowak also highlighted the scale of Labour’s ambitions for reindustrialisation, affordable housing and new nuclear power stations.
Pointing to a recent visit to Heidelberg Materials in North Wales, where he met workers involved in a major carbon capture project, Nowak said:
“Good, unionised jobs in the green transition. What reindustrialisation is all about.”
The Sunday Mirror column represents a strong intervention from the head of Britain’s trade union movement in support of the direction being taken by the new Labour Government, while making clear that unions will continue pressing ministers to deliver further change.
For Nowak, the early signs under Burnham are positive: stronger employment rights, support with household costs and an industrial strategy built around well-paid, unionised jobs.
