The P&O scandal proves that Boris Johnson’s government has no regard for workers

If it wasn’t obvious that our labour laws needed an overhaul before, it certainly should be now

If the prime minister really wants Britain to be the best place in the world, he must act (AFP via Getty Images)

Boris Johnson was elected on a manifesto pledge to make Britain the best place to work in the world. The employment bill, announced in December 2019, was supposed to help realise that promise and – in the government’s own words – protect those in low-paid work and the exploitative gig economy.

Time and time again, we have heard the prime minister commit to boosting workers’ rights. His ministers even spoke of their unwavering dedication to delivering the employment bill, and put out press releases last summer trumpeting their commitments.

But now, more than two years on since that first announcement, Boris Johnson has reportedly shelved the bill for a second year running. Make no mistake: shelving the bill would be betrayal of working people – and a kick in the teeth after the events of recent weeks.

The P&O scandal earlier this year exposed gaping holes in UK employment law. If it wasn’t obvious that our labour laws needed an overhaul before, it certainly should be now. Eight hundred seafarers were unlawfully sacked over zoom with no notice – a national scandal so shocking that it will go down in the history books.

And while ministers have been united in their condemnation of the ferry company, there has been little to show for their outrage so far. What happened at P&O must never be allowed to happen again. But only new legislation which strengthens worker protections can prevent another P&O-style scandal.

Ministers know this. And yet they choose to do nothing.

The government’s failure to deliver an employment bill speaks volumes about its priorities. When push comes to shove, ministers choose to side with bad bosses over working people.

But let’s remember; the P&O scandal didn’t happen out of the blue. A decade of Conservative failures on employment rights saw insecure work tighten its grip on the labour market. Up and down the country, low-paid, precarious jobs replaced well-paid, secure jobs.

Tory ministers wilfully ignored the signs of an economy that wasn’t in favour of workers, and instead chose to attack the powers of trade unions to protect their members.

Today we see the result. More than one million are now on zero-hour contracts. 3.6m are in low-paid, precarious work. And the size of the gig economy workforce has almost tripled in the past five years.

“Fire and rehire”, the practice where employers sack staff only to rehire them on worse terms and conditions, took off during the pandemic – and was left to spread like wildfire.

The UK is in the middle of a crisis of enforcement after years of underfunding of key agencies, leaving many basic workplace rights illusory because of a serious lack of inspectors. To make matters worse, we’ve already fallen behind the EU on workplace rights since Brexit.

While our government sat on its hands, the EU brought forward game-changing legislation to boost workers’ rights in the gig economy. This made clear that gig workers are employees with access to crucial basic rights like the minimum wage, sick pay and paid holidays.

The truth is we are now even further away from being “the best country to work in in the world” than when Boris Johnson was first elected prime minister.

And it’s not just those at the sharp end that will lose out because of a ditched employment bill. Proposals like the right to flexible working – which would benefit all as we emerge from the pandemic – are being dropped under these plans.

Let’s be clear; failure to deliver the long-awaited employment bill is a political choice – in line with the decision to ignore families’ rising energy bills and the repeated failures to fix sick pay.

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It is a choice that tells us ministers are content with the status quo and happy for rogue employers to ride roughshod over workers’ rights.

Events at P&O sent shockwaves through Britain. Anyone with a shred of decency would agree it should mark a turning point for workers’ rights. But all we get from Boris Johnson and his government is more bluster and broken promises.

Working people deserve better. No more excuses, we need an employment bill now to stop exploitation like zero-hour contracts and fire and rehire – and give working people stronger rights to unionise.

The balance of power has swung too far against working people, in favour of bad bosses. If the prime minister really wants Britain to be the best place in the world, he must act.

Frances O’Grady is general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC)