Trades Union Congress

Project Summary

To ensure that fair work is central to the main party manifestos in the run up to the next election, and that the next government delivers early measures to improve job quality and security.

Context

While minimum wage rises have delivered higher rates of hourly pay, they have not been accompanied by increased access to decent terms and conditions, which too often remain the preserve of those who are already in the best paid roles. The covid-19 pandemic also raised awareness of the levels of insecurity at work that many key workers experience, including care workers, retail staff and delivery workers.

Although there are now a plethora of Good Work charters across different local areas and jurisdictions in the UK, there is scant evidence of them driving voluntary change in employer behaviour. In addition, it has also become increasingly difficult to enforce employment rights, meaning even those workers’ who have rights on paper can be left without meaningful protection.

Project Overview

The TUC will host a national conference, which seeks to:

• Evidence the social and economic case for better quality work;
• Showcase the breadth of support for this agenda, including from employers;
• Build support for change among politicians and opinion formers.

Alongside the event, the TUC will develop and publish new research, by using a national, representative poll to understand the public’s views on what minimum standards for treatment at work might look like.