"My Lords, I add my support for these probing amendments and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, for her work on this issue. I strongly welcome the Government’s promise to launch the largest crackdown in history to reduce violence against women and girls. While of course the misery of …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, many businesses of all sizes will welcome the simplification that the establishment of the Fair Work Agency represents in terms of the enforcement regime, but does the Minister share my concern about the spread of bogus self-employment through a range of sectors, from logistics to construction and retail? …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, we all agree that faster economic growth is the priority, but only Labour has a plan to rebuild our productive base and make sure that the benefits of growth are shared fairly. Just today, we have heard about a magnificent win for the Rolls-Royce workforce with the decision …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, in his independent review, Sir Robert also pointed to relatively low pay, leading to recruitment and retention difficulties, particularly for analysts. Does my noble friend the Minister agree?..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I support Amendment 44 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, on migrant domestic workers. I added my name to it and send her my best wishes. I place on record my thanks to Kalayaan, Focus on Labour Exploitation, the Work Rights Centre, the TUC and …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I oppose Motion E1, which is unnecessary. Under the Employment Rights Bill, employers can still dismiss workers fairly—for example, as they can now if they are incompetent or there is misconduct or a redundancy situation. But without the day one protection proposed by the Government, when workers move …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I have just been at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, so it is reassuring to hear that there will be close co-ordination and co-operation on this issue. I also welcome the response on social exclusion and those issues, although, in my experience, increasingly low-paid workers need to have a …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, on this side of the House, we will welcome any initiative that helps kick the door open for young people from working-class backgrounds who, by the way, have plenty of merit but have been denied opportunities and face real barriers. We also know that at the top of …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I shall speak briefly to Amendment 150 in the name of my noble friend Lord Hendy, because I think that it is worth taking just a moment to consider the impact of the reduction in union bargaining power that we have seen on ordinary working people in this …..." Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 127 in the name of my noble friend Lord Hendy, but I am conscious that some of my comments may also be relevant to Amendment 125, which I oppose.