Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Tuesday 8th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do apologise, but progress is not just too slow; it is too slow.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

7. What steps he is taking to support people in insecure work.

[Janet Daby (Lewisham East) (Lab)]

14. What steps he is taking to support people in insecure work.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

The Government’s good work plan represents the largest reform to employment rules in over 20 years. It includes measures to boost transparency and tackle one-sided flexibility for those in insecure work, and I have already tabled legislation in Parliament to take forward the programme.

[Stephen Morgan]

A recent Resolution Foundation report shows that barely half of agency workers remain in one job beyond six months, making the Government’s arbitrary timeframe of 12 months before the right to request a direct contract kicks in totally meaningless. Labour has committed to giving all workers equal rights from day one; why have the Government not committed to doing the same?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman will welcome the reforms that have been made to deal with insecure work and, in particular, to do something that has been campaigned for by the trade union movement and supported by many employers, which is to remove the Swedish derogation that has provided a loophole for employers to avoid those rights. That legislation is now before the House, and I hope he will support it.