Opponents of Angela Rayner’s controversial new industrial laws will tomorrow celebrate ‘Norman Tebbit Day’ in honour of Margaret Thatcher’s late union-bashing ally.
Tory peers will use a debate in the Lords to try to amend Ms Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill, which critics say will make it harder to employ workers, leave businesses vulnerable to strikes and force firms to employ diversity officers to censor conversations they deem inappropriate.
The Bill also contains a raft of other measures. They include the end of zero-hours contracts, strengthened redundancy rights, more flexible working and the power for ministers to take companies to employment tribunals on behalf of employees – even if they do not want to sue.
The peers are planning to amend measures granting access rights for union officials, and new electronic balloting which would make it easier for union reps to persuade workers to back industrial action.
Lord Tebbit, who died aged 94 on July 7, led Mrs Thatcher’s drive to restrict the unions’ ability to bring industrial action.
He described Marxist totalitarians in unions as ‘small in number, anti-democratic forces [which] have gained great power through the trades union movement’.
The peers are also expected to raise fears that hostile states such as Russia, Iran and North Korea could cyber-hack the e-ballots.
As The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this month, under the Bill employers must protect their staff from harassment by third parties.
Opponents of Angela Rayner ’s controversial new industrial laws will tomorrow celebrate ‘Norman Tebbit Day’ in honour of Margaret Thatcher’s late union-bashing ally (Pictured: Mrs Thatcher and Lord Tebbit together in 1987)
Tory peers will use a debate in the Lords to try to amend Ms Rayner’s Employment Rights Bill, which critics say will make it harder to employ workers, leave businesses vulnerable to strikes and force firms to employ diversity officers to censor conversations they deem inappropriate
Lord Tebbit (above), who died aged 94 on July 7, led Mrs Thatcher’s drive to restrict the unions’ ability to bring industrial action
It means, for example, that a worker could take an employer to a tribunal if they feel jokes or banter they overhear was offensive on grounds such as race, sex or religion if their bosses didn’t do ‘all they could’ to prevent it.
That is likely to lead to firms taking on more diversity officers to monitor what people are saying to help them prove they had taken steps to protect their workers.
The Bill fails to stipulate any ring fence allowing the expression of opinions on political, moral, religious or social matters.
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: ‘Angela Rayner’s extreme union charter will take us right back to the 1970s, a period Norman Tebbit fought tooth and nail to drag Britain out of.
‘These laws will see the unions run rife, strangle private enterprise and grind the country to a halt.
‘Most worryingly are measures which risk industrial sabotage. This goes against everything Tebbit fought for, and must be stopped at once’.
