A union leader is to call for co-ordinated action to fight back against firms using so-called fire and rehire tactics to cut pay and conditions.
Sharon Graham, the newly elected general secretary of Unite, will say that fire and rehire is an “abhorrence”.
Addressing the TUC Congress in London she is expected to say that fire and rehire is a legal mechanism used by bad bosses to cut labour costs under the cover of a global pandemic.
“It is one of the scandals of our age. Let’s remember what fire and rehire actually is – workers wake up one morning and have 45 days to accept an ultimatum from the employer which involves slashed wages and terms and conditions. If the new terms are not accepted, it means the sack. Very often there is no warning.
“This could mean workers losing their homes and their families and children being forced to move away from family, friends and neighbourhood networks, to seek work elsewhere.
“Many of the firms employing this tactic are not doing so out of necessity, they are doing it because they can. They’ve thought ‘now is the time’. Fire and rehire is fast moving from opportunism to standard practice. One in 10 workers has been subject to fire and rehire. We must support all legislative efforts to ban this practice.”
Ms Graham will say she was elected on a mandate for change, to refocus Unite on jobs, pay and conditions.
“Not to step away from the political arena, but to make building power at work our number one priority so that we can then move the politics from the grassroots up,” she will say.
“With Labour in opposition and a government reluctant to act, our response must now be industrial. Our priority must be to co-ordinate a fightback at the workplace.”
The Unite leader will say that depending on the circumstances, strike action might not be enough, adding: “That is why we need to share resources and strategies, so that together we can deliver campaigns and give all our members the best chance of winning.
“That must start with real co-ordination – not just words but practical action.”
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