"Responsibility from unions and from business" key to future
says Miliband
At his maiden speech to the Labour Party conference today, the
new Labour leader Ed Miliband outlined his vision for the
future.
In the area of employment relations, his message to the trade
unions was that they should learn the lessons of history and not
“add to the book of historic union failures” This was surely
designed as a signal that Ed Miliband wants to distance himself a
little from the trade unions which were influential in getting him
elected.
He balanced this with a plea for businesses to behave
responsibly, with a strong attack on inequality in pay and a
proposal for a “decent wage not a minimum wage”. He also said
agency workers should enjoy additional protection and that migrant
labour should not be used by employers to undercut UK pay
rates.
With the coalition government hoping to serve a full five year
term, for the first time in many years the Labour leader’s speech
will have no practical impact on employers in the short term, but
it is an early indication of how Labour policy will develop ahead
of the next election.