With paltry sick leave and a living wage kicked to touch, in his contribution, the Minister did not do an awful lot to instil confidence. His first point was that "nothing prevents parties who wish to exercise their right to collectively bargain". He can tell that to the 700 workers in Covalen. I do not think they would find that very comforting at all. Trade unions are the only organisations that protect the rights and interests of workers, yet in our country, which has a long history of struggle and union activism, is an outlier in Europe. Workers have no right to collective bargaining. Employers holds the cards – their veto – and can refuse to engage with unions, which happens. That creates a chilling effect for workers in the context of job security and the quality of their well-being. The voluntary system is unfair, one-sided and very short-sighted. It flies in the face of our obligations under international human rights law. It is counterproductive for thriving, successful enterprises and services. In fact, collective bargaining secures industrial peace and economic stability. It respects workers and employers and establishes mature dialogue and has been shown to prevent much industrial action. All other European states legislate for this, and most avoid strikes and stoppages. They reap the rewards of rewarding workers for productivity, innovation and ownership. Those rewards support industrial peace, economic stability and success. Workers have a democratic right to be collectively represented by trade unions. This Government, including the Minister, made a pledge It should honour that now. The counter-motion is an embarrassment. The Minister made a pre-election pledge, and now he comes along with this. It is time to step up to the plate and deliver.

Sentiment score: 0.20