PCS General Secretary speaks at Employment Rights Event in Westminster

PCS has contributed to several meetings in Parliament in recent weeks, arranged by former shadow employment rights minister Andy McDonald MP, regarding amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.

On Tuesday night PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote provided evidence to MPs and peers. Focusing on sectoral collective bargaining, Fran highlighted the inequality and costs of the current system within the civil service which results in over 200 sets of negotiations, vast inequality across departments and issues with staff retention. Alongside colleagues from GMB, ILO and the STUC, Fran noted the positives in the Bill, including electronic balloting, access to workplaces for trade unions and an end to minimum service levels brought in by the Tories, but highlighted that without serious consideration for collective bargaining across the civil service, PCS members would continue to face an uphill struggle on pay.

Lord John Hendy KQ and Professor Keith Ewing from the Institute of Employment Rights highlighted the UK’s atrocious record on collective bargaining and suggested that Labour needs to go much further if they are to truly improve the pay of workers across all sectors. The IER has worked closely with unions in recent months to draft a list of key amendments for the next stages of the Bill. Several of these have been drafted through collaboration with PCS including on outsourcing, collective bargaining and sick pay.

The Bill has completed its Committee Stages and will likely move to Report Stage in late February. Following Committee there have been over 140 amendments so the Bill.

Watch Fran Heathcote’s update on the Employment Rights Bill after the meeting.

Read further information on PCS’ key areas of focus in the ER Bill in their myth buster.