At this year’s TUC conference there have been a number of announcements that will prove helpful to Usdaw members. We particularly welcome John Denham’s announcement that minimum weekly earnings for all apprentices in England will be increased from £80 to £95 per week from August 2009. This rise will benefit an estimated 26,000 (about 10 per cent) apprentices.
Apprentices form the backbone of our workforce – young people learning trades which contribute both to the economy and their own futures. Better pay for apprentices will encourage more people to enrol on them. We welcome the government’s aspirations for 50,000 more young people to start apprenticeships each year.
This year at the TUC, Usdaw also called for improved maternity pay, a motion which was backed by the other unions.
The issue of maternity pay affects many of our members, the majority of whom are women. It is important that they get the financial support that they need.
At the moment, the flat rate of maternity pay is still too low. It is currently calculated on average earnings during a very specific eight-week period and not on contractual salary, which means that many women fail to qualify for it, or receive a reduced amount where they have been off sick or taken unpaid or parental leave.
We will be campaigning to raise maternity pay to a more respectable amount and to change the way it is calculated. We will also be calling for women who take up their entitlement to Additional Maternity Leave to have the same rights to return to their job as those who return at the end of Ordinary Maternity Leave.
Workers that receive good pay and conditions make more loyal employees, which is better both for them and for employers.
This week Usdaw also called for better protection for vulnerable workers; a motion which, again, was supported by the other unions at the TUC conference in Brighton.
We are asking for the effective enforcement of rights to protect vulnerable and agency workers. We also want the extension of the remit of the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority and better enforcement of employment rights.
So far, good progress has been made to protect vulnerable and agency workers. The National Minimum Wage and an increase in the statutory holiday entitlement have already made a real difference. However, without effective enforcement, new employment rights will fail to deliver for all workers.
The establishment of the Gangmasters’ Licensing Authority has helped to make a significant difference, and we believe that its remit should be extended to cover all agency labour providers, protecting many more vulnerable workers than at present.
Lastly we are calling on the government to set up a Fair Employment Commission, alongside existing enforcement agencies, to co-ordinate employment rights enforcement. This is a recommendation from the TUC Commission on Vulnerable Employment and will help to ensure that the laws in place to protect the most vulnerable in our society are enforced.
This year’s TUC conference comes at a difficult time for the economy and our Labour government. However, it is important that the unions pull together and focus on the issues that matter to our members. We must continue to campaign for better wages, improved working conditions and equality for working people. That is what we at Usdaw are doing and will continue to do.