According to a poll by the TUC, most people who voted in the 2019 election want the government to protect and enhance workers’ rights.

The poll of almost 3,000 adults, carried out in the four days after the election, found that the vast majority of election voters (including most of those who switched to the Conservatives from Labour) want the government to:

  • Protect and enhance workers’ rights guaranteed by the EU
  • Give new rights to workers in the gig economy
  • Ban zero-hours contracts
  • Properly fund public services, even if that means higher taxes
  • Introduce a £10 minimum wage immediately
  • Raise taxes for those earning £80,000 and above

 

Specifically, it found that nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of voters said the government must protect and enhance current workplace rights guaranteed by the EU, like paid holidays and rights for temporary and agency workers.

This was supported by two-thirds (65 per cent) of people who voted Conservative in 2019, and by 8 in 10 (79 per cent) of those who switched from Labour to the Conservatives.

The vast majority of voters (71 per cent) also want new rights for gig economy workers, including the majority (65 per cent) of Conservative voters and those who moved from Labour to the Conservatives during the election (78 per cent).

There is also widespread public support for banning zero-hours contracts (66 per cent) and having union rights in every workplace (63 per cent).

There is overwhelming public support (68 per cent) for an immediate increase to the minimum wage to £10 an hour, especially among those who switched from Labour to the Conservatives (76 per cent).

Finally, most voters (68 per cent) – including the majority of those who voted Conservative (56 per cent) – think taxes should be increased for those earning over £80,000 a year.

Neil Todd, of Thompsons Solicitors, commented: “The message from the poll conducted by the TUC is very clear - a desire for stronger workers’ rights. The question now is whether the Boris Johnson administration will listen and deliver on that. The early indications are not promising.

“The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill (WAB) was re-introduced following the re-opening of Parliament on 19 December 2019. It passed its second reading on 20 December 2019. The previous version of the WAB contained provisions to safeguard existing EU-derived workers' rights, in the form of a duty on the government to consult unions and employers' organisations and issue, if appropriate, a "non-regression statement" for any future employment bills. Those provisions have now been entirely removed from the new version of the Bill. While the existing provisions were insufficiently robust in any event, removing them in their entirety does not send a message of a strong commitment to worker rights”.

To read the findings in full, go to: https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/boris-johnson-under-pressure-voters-deliver-workers-rights-tuc-post-election-poll-reveals