At a crossroads
The United Kingdom’s economy has encountered a challenging phase, with consecutive monthly declines in GDP marking the first back-to-back contraction since the tumultuous days of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The UK’s opposition Labour Party is considering allowing millions of their workers to set their own hours under new plans for a “workplace revolution” if leader Jeremy Corbyn came to power after the December 12 general elections, a media report said on Friday.
If Corbyn wins the election, Labour would bring in a new “presumption in favour of flexible working” under which all staff will get the right to choose their pattern, The Daily Mail report said.
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The reforms were announced by Shadow Equalities Minister Dawn Butler, who said, “Labour will deliver a workplace revolution to bring about a step-change in how women are treated at work.”
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The onus would be on the employer to prove that a job was not suitable for flexible working, according to the part. If they could not do so, they would have to submit to their workers’ demands.
Labour was also considering a plan to give workers greater rights to determine their own wages, it was claimed last night. Laura Pidcock, the party’s employment rights spokesman, said, “It is workers, actually, who should be evaluating what their rate of pay is for the skill that they have and the job that they do.”
The early December elections were announced after the Brexit deadline was extended from October 31 to January 31 after PM Boris Johnson failed to pass his Brexit deal. Britons will decide the composition of the government that will be tasked with steering the country through the tortuous “Brexit” process of withdrawing from the European Union (EU).
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