Labor plans to give people the legal right to work from home as part of its election manifesto, and to make it easier for workers to strike.
The policy of making flexible working the default option appears in an extensive list of proposals being formally considered for the manifesto, which has been leaked.
The core line proposes: ‘Make flexible working the standard for all employees from day one, except where it is not reasonably feasible.’
It comes at a time when fears are mounting that Britain’s poor productivity is having a negative impact on the economic recovery.
The position was first set out by the party in July 2021, when Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was ‘not just about working from home’, but wider flexible working rights.
Pictured: Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer (file photo). The policy of making flexible working the default option is among an extensive list of proposals being formally considered for the party’s election manifesto, which has been leaked
The main line proposes: ‘Make flexible working the standard for all employees from day one, except where it is not reasonably feasible’ (stock image)
Other examples included flexible hours, staggered hours, compressed hours, annualized hours, and flexibility around school runs and other family and care responsibilities.
This is in stark contrast to the Conservative Party’s position of prime ministers trying to lure people back into office following the coronavirus pandemic.
Increasing the likelihood of people working from home could jeopardize pressures to improve productivity in the UK, which is lagging behind some of the other major economies and seen as vital to securing improved long-term growth .
In another blow to those endangered by the cost-of-living crisis, the Bank of England this week raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage point to 4.5 percent – a new 15-year high.
It is the 12th consecutive bump and a peak since October 2008, when the credit crunch sent levels plummeting.
It means that about 2.2 million people with variable rate mortgages will immediately face higher bills.
Pictured Sir Keir Starmer with cabinet members (file photo). The work-from-home policy outlined in the leaked document contrasts sharply with the Conservative Party’s stance, with prime ministers trying to lure people back to office after the coronavirus pandemic
The work from home policy was one of many bold proposals in the leaked 86-page ‘policy handbook’ circulated ahead of Labour’s National Policy Forum (NPF).
The contents of the document were obtained and published by the left-wing political website Labor List.
Some of the policies in the document are not new and fit the party’s public position.
The document was recently circulated to party stakeholders, confirming that its policies are likely to be considered for the party’s next manifesto.
The NPF will meet this summer to discuss policy and there will be further debate at the Labor party conference this autumn.
The Labor leadership and shadow cabinet will have the final say on what policies appear in the manifesto, with members and unions also being consulted.
The document is the clearest indication yet of what direction Sir Keir Starmer’s government would take if he were victorious in the next election, which is expected to take place in 2024.
In the photo: Sir Keir Starmer (photo file). The contents of the document were obtained and published by the left-wing political website Labor List
The Labor leader has drawn criticism for playing it safe when it comes to revealing policies.
The party did not dispute the correctness of the contents of the leaked document on Friday.
Labor increased its lead over the Conservatives to 16 points after last week’s local elections, which saw Sir Keir Starmer win while Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suffered humiliating losses.
A new Savanta poll, conducted between May 5 and May 7, immediately after the election, put Labor at 46 percent of the vote and the Conservative Party at 30 percent.
Labor was up two points compared to a poll conducted between April 28 and April 30, while the Conservatives saw a drop of one point as Labour’s overall lead increased by three points.
Labor’s 16-point lead is the largest recorded in a Savanta poll since early April.
A number of policy proposals in the leaked document, with input from unions, indicate the party wants to make it easier for union members to take industrial action.
Departure boards show no trains at London Charing Cross station today due to train strikes
Labor wants to repeal the Trade Union Act 2016, which introduced higher thresholds for the number of union members who had to vote in favor of a strike for it to be legal.
Half of all union members had to vote for a strike to be legal.
In services such as school education and health care, 40 percent of all members had to vote explicitly for strike action.
The policy document also discusses ending the Tories’ drive to legally require striking unions in critical national infrastructure areas to provide a minimum level of service during industrial action.
It also mentions ‘enabling workers to organize themselves collectively through trade unions’, as well as a desire to ‘strengthen and update the rights of working people’.
Overall, it points to Sir Keir’s government pushing for more union powers and scrapping rules that hinder their ability to launch strikes.
The position is likely to be divisive as the UK has seen several bouts of industrial action over the past year, including from nurses, railway workers, civil servants and postmen.