Commemoration of Matchgirls’ Strike
John Slinger Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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Uma Kumaran
I could not have put it better myself. Durham is rooted in the fight for workers’ rights, and I am proud that that tradition is still continuing. My hon. Friend has long been a powerful advocate for working people’s rights and union voices in Britain. She has made a powerful point, and I thank her for her intervention.
As we honour these women and celebrate how far we have come, we also know that—in the words of another incredibly powerful woman—great is the work yet to be done, particularly for women in today’s workforce who still struggle disproportionately with low-paid and insecure work. There are 3.9 million working women in the UK who are in severely insecure work—insecure work that creates a culture of fear and uncertainty, isolates employees, and so often leaves young women struggling financially.
Young women are more likely to work in sectors with high job insecurity. They are paid less, work fewer hours, and face last-minute shift changes. All that puts them under greater financial and emotional pressure. Young women are paid less, and are stuck in roles that are far below their potential. Over time, this chips away at their confidence, their mental health, and any sense of self-worth. When they do not feel safe to speak up about poor treatment, they start to believe that being treated unfairly is just part of the job. What is worse is that many young women do not even know their rights at work. I have worked with the Young Women’s Trust, which has told me that nearly half the women it surveyed did not know their rights in insecure jobs.
This follows women throughout our lives. When women return to work after pregnancy, their wages stagnate and they are crippled by the costs of childcare. Women are still struggling today, and that must change—which is why I was so proud to be a member of the Bill Committee considering this Labour Government’s Employment Rights Bill, a Committee to which the Minister was integral. We are delivering the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, rolling back Tory attacks on workers’ rights to have their voices heard at work, cracking down on fire and rehire practices, banning non-disclosure agreements that prevent people from speaking up about harassment and discrimination, delivering sick pay for 1.3 million of our lowest earners, enhancing workplace protections for pregnant women and new mothers, and taking on the gender pay gap. In all those ways, we are boosting living standards and workplace protections for millions.
Now, 137 years on from the matchgirls’ strike, those landmark reforms will deliver rights and dignity to a new generation of women and working people, but we must ensure that young women know their rights and that those rights are enforced. We must therefore give the fair work agency the power and resources to do its job well and ensure that the workers most at risk of exploitation and discrimination are helped to access their rights, so that our economy can finally gain from the skills and talents of young women.
I have covered a lot of ground today, and it has been a bit of a history lesson: the story of the matchgirls, pride in Britain’s working class history, pride in the story of my constituents in Stratford and Bow, and the security and dignity of young women in today’s workforce. If Members want to learn more, I encourage them to visit the Upper Waiting Hall off the Committee corridor, where the Matchgirls Memorial is hosting an exhibition right here in Parliament.
I want to thank the brilliant women in my team who have helped me to put this speech together, and who have been integral to the work we have been doing to shine a light on this subject. I pay tribute to Anna Gorrell, Niamh O’Brien and Sameeah Ahmad. Let me also thank Barbara Plant of the GMB, who is in the Gallery today, and Penny Robinson from GMB London region, who have played an integral role in helping me along my way as a Member of Parliament.
I want to end by honouring the inspiring legacy of the women and girls of the matchgirls’ strike of 1888 by ensuring that the names of the strike and union committees are recorded in Hansard, and that their contribution to the fight for the workers’ rights that we all enjoy today is remembered.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the brave actions of the matchgirls, like those of so many women trade unionists and, indeed, women throughout history, should serve as an inspiration to girls and young women in constituencies such as mine, and that they can be inspired to take action to gain the justice that they need in their lives and we need in all our lives?
Sonia Kumar
Absolutely. My hon. Friend has made a very important point.
As I was saying, I would like to ensure that the names of the strike and union committee members are recorded in Hansard, so that their contribution to the fight for the workers’ rights that we all enjoy today is remembered. They were Eliza Martin, Mary Naulls, Louisa Beck, Kate Sclater, Julia Gambleton, Ellen Johnson, Jane Wakeling, Mary Driscoll, Jane Staines, Alice Francis, Eliza Price, Mary Cummings and Sarah Chapman, whose great-granddaughter Sam is in the Gallery and has done so much to honour the incredible legacy of the matchgirls.
There is a saying: “If you want a job done right, get a woman to do it.” Never has this been truer in the fight for women’s rights than for the matchgirls, and I pay tribute to these extraordinary women.
Oral Answers to Questions
John Slinger Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
The Government continue to support entrepreneurs through start-up loans via the British Business Bank and through programmes such as growth hubs in England and “Help to Grow: Management” training across the UK. Later this year we will publish our small and medium-sized enterprise strategy, one key element of which will be to signal our determination to do even more to champion our entrepreneurs, including through a new vision for business support, built around the coming business growth service.
Gareth Thomas
I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment to championing entrepreneurs on the Isle of Wight. We know that there is huge untapped potential in the entrepreneurial talent across the UK, and we are determined to do even more to unlock it, including on the Isle of Wight. As he will know, the Department for Transport, which leads on cross-Solent travel, has been clear that ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight are vital for islanders and for business. I know he has already had some contact with ministerial colleagues at the Department for Transport to discuss these issues, but if he thinks I can be helpful, I will be happy to meet him.
John Slinger
Towns like Rugby have a proud industrial heritage and an exciting present, and we are building a dynamic and sustainable business and industrial future. It was very welcome that the Chancellor revised the Green Book to make sure that investment and economic growth are spread more fairly across the country, beyond the major city regions. Can my hon. Friend set out what support may be available for towns like Rugby to attract and encourage people to start and grow their own businesses—for example, entrepreneurship hubs in towns rather than cities, so that they can play a role, and targeted tax reliefs for firms setting up in places like Rugby?
Gareth Thomas
I welcome my hon. Friend’s commitment to championing entrepreneurs in his constituency. He may know that we already have some 41 growth hubs across England, including the Coventry and Warwickshire growth hub, which provides a bespoke service for first-time entrepreneurs, tailored advice and support to start-ups and those wanting to scale up a business. We are determined to do more to help entrepreneurs and will set out our plans in our SME strategy, which is due to be published relatively shortly.
Competition and Markets Authority Chairman
John Slinger Excerpts(6 months ago)
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Justin Madders
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Unfortunately, transport funding—particularly in Wales—is well outside the CMA’s remit.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the UK’s economic regulators have a responsibility to ensure supersonic growth in our economy with a pro-business approach, and that this is part of what I would term a responsibility agenda? We all have a responsibility to ensure the best for our economy, and those regulators do as well.
Justin Madders
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We all need to be signed up to this agenda, which is absolutely critical for delivering on our aims of getting a better-growing economy, getting more money into people’s pockets, delivering on the promises we have made, and changing the tune after the last 14 years of decline.
UK Supply Chains: Uyghur Forced Labour
John Slinger Excerpts(7 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Alexander
I thank the hon. Lady for her observation, and for the characteristically calm wisdom with which she spoke about issues on which I think there is a high degree of consensus across the House. Given that we have been in government for five months, it is appropriate that we review the effectiveness of the Modern Slavery Act, which, in its day, was clearly a pioneering piece of legislation that commanded support across the House. In that sense, the review and the desire to understand the impact of the Act are informed by more recent innovations, such as those in the United States, the EU and Canada. I can assure the hon. Lady that alongside the trade strategy that we are publishing and the industrial strategy that we aim to publish in the spring, we are already carefully considering the critical elements of other legislation and seeing whether there is scope for strengthening the approach taken by the UK.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that self-regulation, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) referred, is often a euphemism for minimal or, indeed, no regulation? Is he confident that current legislation is sufficient to compel businesses operating in the UK to address the risks of modern slavery and, most importantly, the risks to the human rights of the people being exploited?
Mr Alexander
Notwithstanding the concerns that have been expressed in the Chamber about the existing statutory framework, we need to send a clear and unequivocal signal that no company in the United Kingdom that operates under the existing statutory framework should have any forced labour whatsoever in its supply chain. There are already rules in place to compel companies to publish statements demonstrating that they have met their very clear legal obligations, not least in relation to the exploitation of which my hon. Friend speaks.
Stellantis Luton
John Slinger Excerpts(7 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Jonathan Reynolds
I certainly agree that we should be honest, and the hon. Gentleman’s characterisation of the UK automotive sector is simply not correct. All I ask him to do is this: do not listen to the Government or even the Opposition, but go and speak to the industry and the firms involved. He should ask them about their investment plans, and find out why he is so out of touch with industry sentiment. Many of the problems in some other European countries have come from a lack of ambition on transition. Fundamentally, if we are selling 80% of what we make in the UK to other markets, there is no long-term market for internal combustion engines and we must recognise that. Again, the hon. Gentleman should not take it from the Government; he should take it from industry. I am afraid that on this one, as with our exchange on steel a few months ago, he is just out of touch with what consumers and business want.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that unlike the Conservative party, this Labour Government do not regard the words “industrial strategy” as anathema? Does he agree that UK industry in general, and the automotive sector specifically, suffered under the previous Government due to their laissez-faire stand-aside approach?
Jonathan Reynolds
I very much believe that industrial strategy is essential to the future of the United Kingdom. I hoped that this would be supported on a cross-party basis, and I see no reason why Conservative Members, or anyone else, would not support an industrial strategy. Indeed, some Conservative Members, or their predecessors, held positions similar to the one I hold. They got this and believed in it, and did quite a good job in some difficult circumstances within the Conservative party. Yes, an industrial strategy is essential to this Government, and I hope the whole House will get behind our plans for Invest 2035. The response from industry has been superb. It is what we need as a country, and we should all get behind that.
Oral Answers to Questions
John Slinger Excerpts(8 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
No. I gently point out to the hon. Gentleman the difficult economic inheritance that his party left this Government to sort out. We are determined to walk towards all the tough decisions his party refused to face up to in government. If he is against the increase in employers’ national insurance contributions, he needs to say how he will fund the investment we announced yesterday in the aerospace and automotive sectors, and how he would fund the extra investment that we will make in the NHS and other public services.
John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)
Mr Speaker
Order. These are topical questions, and they are meant to be short and punchy, not speeches. I am sure we can find time for an Adjournment debate for the hon. Gentleman.