Theresa May announces sweeping promises on workers rights Theresa May has announced a sweeping series of promises on workers’ rights, claiming the plans represent the “greatest expansion” of […]

Theresa May has announced a sweeping series of promises on workers’ rights, claiming the plans represent the “greatest expansion” of employee protections in the Conservative party’s history.

Under the policies to be outlined in the party’s manifesto – due to be launched this week – Mrs May promised to put “ordinary working families first”.

The surprise proposals are widely being viewed as an attempt to secure large sections of the Labour vote, with opposition figures saying the public “can’t trust” the Tories.

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The Conservatives’ pledges include new legal provisions for workers and a promise that existing rights will be maintained despite the nation’s exit from the European Union – which currently guarantees workers’ rights. Employees will also be granted new rights relating to training, family life and more of a say in the way their companies are run.

‘The choice is clear’

The Promises: -Protect all worker’s rights currently guaranteed by EU law “as we leave the EU”. -Increase the National Living Wage in line with media earnings until 2022. -New protections for workers in the ‘gig economy’. -Representation for workers on company boards. -A new statutory right for workers to receive information about key decisions affecting their company. -A new statutory right to request leave for training purposes. -A new statutory right to leave to care for a family member. -New rules to protect workers’ pensions from irresponsible behaviour by company bosses. -Reforms to the Equalities Act to extend protections from mental health discrimination. -A statutory right to child bereavement leave. -The introduction of new returnships for people returning to the labour market after absence.

Speaking at a training facility today, Mrs May is expected to say: “I said I would use Brexit to extend the protections and rights that workers enjoy, and our manifesto will deliver exactly that.

“Our plans will be the greatest expansion in workers’ rights by any Conservative government in history. By working with business, reducing taxes and dealing with the deficit, we have delivered steady improvements to the economic prospects of working people. Now is the time to lock in that economic growth.”

She invited comparisons with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying: “The choice next month is clear: economic stability and a better deal for workers under my Conservative team, or chaos under Jeremy Corbyn, whose nonsensical policies would trash the economy.”

Opponents slam track record

But the announcement was met with derision from opposition figures and trade unionists, who criticised the Conservatives’ track record on workers’ rights. Labour campaign chief Andrew Gwynne said the Prime Minister was “taking working people for fools”.

“Theresa May and her Tory Government have failed to stand up for workers, with hundreds of thousands not being paid the money owed to them, thousands unable to get their case against their employer heard and hundreds of complaints of employment agency malpractice going uninvestigated,” he said.

“The Tories have spent the past seven years prioritising the few. These ridiculous claims are yet more evidence that this election is a choice between a Tory party that fails working people and a Labour party that will stand up for them.”

Vince Cable, former Business Secretary, said: “From undermining unions to trying to ban strikes, it’s clear the Tories aren’t the party of workers’ rights. You can’t trust them to care about you and your family. They know the bad Brexit deal they’re pursuing will harm workers’ living standards and jobs for many years to come.”

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said it was good news the Prime Minister accepted the importance of EU-derived workers’ rights but added: “There is no way that working people can rely on the rest of her party feeling the same way.”

Included in the Tory proposals are promises to introduce new returnships for people returning to the labour market from a period of absence, including from parenthood and caring for loved ones, and a commitment to increase the National Living Wage until the end of the next Parliament in 2022..

The party said it would provide a right to child bereavement leave, for those who suffer the tragedy of losing a child. Many companies provide informal leave under Tory plans it would bring in a legal right after a consultation on the exact level of bereavement leave.