'Voices of doom who opposed minimum wage are singing same old tune on Labour's workers' rights plan'

Angela Rayner, who is spearheading the New Deal for Working People, with Labour’s Metro Mayors

This month marked the 25th anniversary of one of the crowning achievements of the last Labour Government – the introduction of the National Minimum Wage.

This was a big, bold policy, driven through in the face of co-ordinated opposition from the Conservatives and the bad employers who wanted to continue to profit from under-paid work. As a result of Labour’s ambition, millions of workers have benefited from a policy that has stood the test of time.

Back then, the Conservatives and bad bosses predicted the worst: rampant unemployment would surely follow – no businesses will hire if they have to pay more. But that Labour Government stood firm, and the cynics were proved wrong again and again. As Labour Mayors, we can see all too clearly the urgent need for the big, bold policy solutions to the challenges of 2024.

In power, Labour Mayors have done what we can to improve the quality of work, celebrating and promoting businesses who do the right thing, whilst providing support to the businesses who want to improve their practices. And we use our purchasing power to ensure payment of the real living wage. But there’s a limit to what we can do ourselves.

After 14 long years of Conservative Government, the communities we represent are crying out for change. Over a decade of falling living standards, zero hour contracts leaving workers unsure if they’ll get the shifts they need, and a Government that has made it its driving mission to erode employment rights and the rights of the unions that stand up for working people.

That is why we, as Labour Mayors, are full square behind Labour’s New Deal for Working People. It’s a plan to make work pay, to give real security at work, and to finally make work a platform that working people can build a life on.

Banning zero hours contracts, rights at work from day one, strengthening sick pay, real flexible working rights, ending fire and rehire, cracking down on bad employers with tough enforcement of rights at work – and ensuring unions have the rights they need to raise pay and improve conditions. These policies will make a real and lasting difference in the communities we represent.

As Labour Mayors, we work with businesses and unions because we know that is how you improve our local economies. But nationally, fourteen years of failed Conservative policies are proof that cutting workers’ rights only deepens the growth crisis. Decent rights at work and fair wages drive up investment. That’s why it’s vital that unions have the modern rights they need to raise pay and improve conditions, as part of Labour’s mission to get Britain growing again.

These policies are not just bold and transformational – they’re also voters’ priorities. At a time when the cost of living crisis remains the top concern, this plan to make work pay has got to stay at the top of Labour’s agenda. This is the real Take Back Control plan – putting power back into the hands of working people.

It’s no surprise that the same voices of doom are back singing the same old tune, making out that fair pay and decent rights at work are a pathway to disaster. They were wrong then, and they’re wrong now. Keir Starmer couldn’t be clearer that this is going to happen – as he said to Labour’s Business Conference “I want to be crystal clear about this, we are going to level-up workers’ rights in a way that has not been attempted for decades”.

This is the approach we’ve taken as Labour Mayors. We’ve worked with businesses to set up Fair Work Charters and good work standards to drive up pay and working conditions, and we’ve sought to do business with good employers who recognise unions and treat their workers well.

Employers are coming to us to sign up to our charters, that’s why we know that employers who play by the rules have nothing to fear from the New Deal. So many good employers are fed up with the bad ones undercutting them by cutting corners on pay and conditions – the New Deal will help to level that playing field.

A Labour Government will deliver the New Deal for Working People, in full. That is not in question. The election is the only thing standing between working people and the big and bold policies that will change their lives for the better. Only a Labour Government, working hand in hand with Labour Mayors and local Councillors, will put power back into the hands of working people.

That means booting out this tired and failed Conservative Government as soon as we have the chance. Crucially, it’s why only a vote for Labour on May 2 will deliver the leadership right across the country that working people need.

Tracy Brabin – Mayor of West Yorkshire

Andy Burnham – Mayor of Greater Manchester

Oliver Coppard – Mayor of South Yorkshire

Nik Johnson – Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Sadiq Khan – Mayor of London

Dan Norris – Mayor of the West of England

Steve Rotheram – Mayor of Liverpool City Region