What changes to workers’ rights mean for the Budget – and the economy

While it has nowhere near the importance of next week’s Budget, the Employment Rights Bill will have a significant and potentially long-lasting effect on the economy. However, it has equally been the case that union memberships have usually endorsed a six-monthly renewal of the strike mandate, and there’s no reason to believe that a one-year rule would make much practical difference. Yes, and it’s undeniable that smaller businesses could be hit quite hard by a combination of more onerous workers’ rights, increases to the minimum/living wage, a rise in employers’ national insurance contributions, the possible tightening of capital gains tax and inheritance tax, and other changes. So, arguably, the “net” cost is only £2bn, out of a total national “wages bill” of around £1.3 trillion, ie an additional cost of either 0.17 per cent ; or 0.38 per cent. Naturally, they’re against the reversal of their most recent laws, but one of the acts, imposing minimum service guarantees in vital public services, was never actually used by any employer, and the bulk of the deregulation of the British labour market dates back to the 1980s and 1990s, and all the important restrictions on union power from that time, such as on secondary picketing, “unofficial” or “wildcat” strikes and social security for strikers, are firmly in place.