GRcade

Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour party is set to unveil a weakened package of workers’ rights in the coming weeks in its latest softening of radical policies ahead of the upcoming general election, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Labour has vowed to include in its manifesto a long list of employment policies ranging from higher sick pay to ending employers’ use of “fire and rehire”, and reversing anti-strike legislation as part of its “New Deal for Working People”.

The package, first outlined in 2021, has been billed by Starmer as the biggest increase in workers’ rights for decades, with the Labour leader warning business chiefs in February it would “not please everyone in the room”.

But behind the scenes, shadow ministers have been discussing how to tone down some of the pledges to ease employer misgivings as the party tries to boost its pro-business credentials, the people familiar with the matter said.

Those talks, along with a period of focused outreach to business on the policies, have concluded and the finessed package of measures is set to be published in the coming weeks, the people added.

The move is likely to anger some trade union leaders but please business groups, which have become more vocal in raising concerns since Starmer’s February speech.

“The whole tone of everything they’ve been saying on workers’ rights has been attempting to be constructive compared to a couple of months ago,” said one lobbyist.

One business leader said that after several meetings with the party, they were now “pretty relaxed” about its plans.

Shadow ministers will hold a meeting with union general secretaries in the coming weeks to seek their approval for the new version of the workers’ rights package, or at least minimise their resistance to it, according to Labour figures.

The renewed New Deal will emphasise that many of the policies will be subject to formal consultation with business, allowing for dilution of the promises when turned into practice and the potential for significant delay.

Labour originally said it would bring forward legislation within its first 100 days in office to enact the reforms. Some of this could come in the form of “draft legislation” that will be subject to consultation before it begins the formal process of becoming law, according to Labour officials. Other policies could come in later through secondary legislation.

One Labour official said: “While we want to hit the ground running, some policies will take time to implement and deliver.”