Another broken promise by Boris Johnson

Well, I suppose nobody really expected the Prime Minister to deliver on his election promises, but the latest one missing in action is actually quite important and was a key part of the reassurances behind Boris Johnson's Brexit deal.

The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson has been accused of backtracking on a promise to boost workers’ rights after leaving out landmark reforms to zero-hours contracts and the gig economy from the Queen’s speech:

Employers’ groups and trade unions said the prime minister risked “levelling down on jobs” after the setpiece event used to open parliament did not include proposals for an employment bill among his government’s priorities.

First pledged in December 2019, the bill was supposed to be the government’s main vehicle for raising workplace protections after Brexit while also acting to safeguard gig economy workers from abusive employers and exploitative contracts.

Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said the government was rowing back from its commitments at a pivotal moment for workers.

“This pandemic has brutally exposed the terrible working conditions and insecurity many of our key workers in retail, care, and delivery face,” she said. “We need action now to deal with the scourge of insecure work – not more dithering and delay."

Warren Kenny, the acting general secretary of the GMB union, said workers had been “fobbed off repeatedly” by ministers promising to boost employment protections, leaving bosses free to use underhand tactics with impunity.

“Warm words on workers’ rights are betrayed by this government’s abject lack of leadership. This is an historic missed opportunity at a time when unscrupulous employers are exploiting the pandemic to attack good quality jobs,” he said.

The Guardian reported earlier this year that the bill could be delayed until at least the autumn or early 2022 amid concern that ideological opposition within the Conservative party around employment rights was standing in the way of progress.

The fact that many of us expected this particular promise to be broken does not undermine the significance of the decision. Workers rights were a key part of the compact we had with the EU and promises to protect them persuaded many people to vote for Brexit. Those voters have now been sold down the river.