Workers have not enjoyed many decent moments since the Tories took power in 2010.
Conservative Ministers chiselled away at their right to strike under a draconian anti-union law.
Brexit was hailed by them as a way of cutting “red tape” – code for taking away hard-earned rights.
Yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling in the Uber case was a rare piece of good news.
Uber operating companies argued that drivers were contractors not workers.
The drivers argued the opposite and the country’s highest court agreed with them. Lawyers believe the landmark ruling means Uber drivers will be entitled to basic rights such as holiday pay.
Compensation for lost pay could also be on the cards. But the judgment has a wider significance for workers in the gig economy.
No longer will firms be allowed to deny workers minimum rights on the basis of desperate arguments.
The judgment will hopefully lead to bad practices being phased out.
As Scottish TUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “This ruling has enormous implications for employment law which go beyond Uber to the wider gig economy.”
When Labour was last in power, ministers introduced the minimum wage and dragged the UK into the 21st century for employment rights. We need a new settlement which reflects the realities of work in 2021.
A necessary first step is dumping Boris Johnson from office and replacing him with a prime minister who is committed to bold change.
