In-work Poverty

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Chris Stephens

Wednesday 28th June 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered in-work poverty.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship once again, Sir George. I am grateful to have secured this important debate on the scandal that is in-work poverty. Such a debate should not be needed in the 21st century in one of the wealthiest nations in the world, and yet here we are. I hope the debate will explore why so many people face unacceptable levels of poverty not when they are out of work, but while they are working and earning a living.

“If you work hard, you can earn a decent wage, buy a house and raise a family”—that is the promise the Government made to the country in their last election manifesto when they stated:

“We will help people and families throughout their lives by bringing down the cost of living and making sure that work always pays.”

I do not think it is controversial to say that I agree with that. People who work hard should be able to earn a decent wage, afford a home and raise a family. A job that pays, a home of their own and a family they can support are not great gifts bestowed by a generous Government; they are key indicators of a healthy and functioning society. They are our modest expectations and reasonable aspirations, and any half-competent Government should be expected to deliver them. Cruelly, over the past 13 years, this Conservative Government have not only failed to do their job and deliver for the British people; they have also, systematically, through either incompetence or intention—probably both—prevented millions across the UK from getting on in life, trapping them in an inescapable cycle of poverty and hardship.

Data from the Department for Work and Pensions shows that one in five people in the UK were in relative poverty in 2021-22. It is clear that working does not preclude a family or an individual from poverty. After housing costs, 71% of children and 57% of working-age adults who are in poverty are in poverty. In-work poverty has increased by a shocking 1.5 million people since the Conservatives took office in 2010. There are three overarching reasons why things have become so bad: earnings, housing and the cost of living. On each, the Government have taken a bad situation and made it much worse.

Wages today are at the same level as in 2005. That is the longest period of stagnation in terms of earnings in nearly 200 years. Public services have been cut to the bone, and many public sector workers have seen their pay significantly eroded by years of below-inflation rises. At the same time, there has been an explosion in the gig economy and other insecure work—a damning indictment of the Tories’ economic and political choices, which have forced ever more people to rely on the benefits system.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. He mentions the gig economy. Three of the reasons for in-work poverty are insecure work and zero-hours contracts, bogus self-employment and low wages. The Government made promises in response to the Taylor review eight years ago, but we are still waiting for that employment Bill. Does he agree that we need that employment Bill now?

[Mr Dhesi]

I could not agree more. I remember standing in this very place after I had managed to secure a debate on the Taylor review of modern working practices. In fact, some of the same Members who are here today also took part in that debate, during which we asked for the employment Bill to be introduced. It is shocking that only seven of the 53 agreed areas of legislation were enacted. Such intransigence is what leads to more in-work poverty.

For 13 years, successive Conservative Governments have sought to undermine social security in our country. Universal credit is not protecting working families from poverty. More than a third of children and working age adults in working families in receipt of universal credit are still in poverty after housing costs.

Ms Clarke, one of my constituents in Slough, is a nurse who supported the most vulnerable during the covid-19 pandemic. She is struggling to pay for the loans that she took out for her training and has to claim universal credit. For that, she must take annual leave to attend her appointments at the jobcentre. How is any of that fair or right? She is a nurse and a single mother without the support she clearly requires.

Fire and Rehire Tactics

Debate between Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi and Chris Stephens

Wednesday 15th June 2022 Westminster Hall

[Mr Dhesi]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and with a great deal of wit.

While the Government can do all the things that I have outlined, it seems that supporting workers’ rights has been abandoned at the bottom of the pile. It is not a priority for this Government, who seem to value their own job security above that of the average working person.

What does the Prime Minister expect from our great British workforce? Under this Government, are workers just meant to put up and shut up about their inadequate pay, conditions and benefits, without having adequate legal protections? Thankfully, due to the excellent work of unions such as Unite, Unison, GMB, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association or TSSA, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers or RMT, ASLEF and others, there is some support and respite from fire and rehire for employees. However, without legislation, I fear that this practice will persist.

It is clear that we need to outlaw fire and rehire. We do not need some sort of consultation but to outlaw it and urgently introduce a Bill to strengthen workers’ rights. Lip service will not stop fire and rehire; an effective ban will. However, Government plans on a statutory code fall woefully short and even then the Government are struggling to implement the bare minimum required. Current Government proposals would mean that the practice of fire and rehire remains legal, consultation procedures would not be improved and workers would continue to be dismissed for not agreeing to an inferior contract. Quite simply, all that that will achieve is to increase a company’s financial calculation before it uses fire and rehire tactics regardless.

We already know that the Government plans do not work. P&O Ferries calculated that it was financially worthwhile foregoing consultations, despite knowing that they were necessary, before cutting almost 800 jobs and replacing those employees with agency workers. P&O’s chief executive said:

“I would make this decision again, I’m afraid.”

Unscrupulous employers are acting without consequence. Companies have examined our current legislation, deemed that it is not fit for purpose and then exploited it. Failing to turn the tide now will be a green light for other employers to behave in exactly the same way.

P&O Ferries did not act in a vacuum. Its decision came after immoral fire and rehire tactics were used persistently throughout the pandemic. British Airways and other such companies were called “a national disgrace” by the Transport Committee for their actions, which put thousands of jobs at risk and led to my inbox being flooded by messages from concerned Slough constituents who work at Heathrow airport. Employees who had worked for BA for decades were threatened with being cast off at the beginning of a global pandemic, which is unforgivable. It was only due to the excellent work of unions on behalf of the workers involved that deals were reached and jobs were saved, but it should not have had to come to that.

British Gas, which is owned by Centrica, threatened the livelihoods of 5,000 employees, using the threat of coronavirus as a smokescreen to act unethically against many of my Slough constituents, and I know that many other right hon. and hon. Members’ constituents were also affected. Before an agreement was reached that brought the dispute to an end, there were 44 days of strike action and 500 workers were dismissed. Again, without the unions thousands more workers would have been left without a job and without representation.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

The hon. Gentleman and I walked to this debate together from the main Chamber, where there is severe trade union bashing going on from the Government side. Is that not the reality of the current Government, namely that they are too busy bashing trade unions, not working with them?

[Mr Dhesi]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. That issue is exactly what we discussed as we made our way from the main Chamber into Westminster Hall. The Government are trying to pick a fight with unions rather than dealing with issues or coming to the negotiating table. For example, the hugely disruptive rail strikes, which will have an enormous impact on many of us, could have been resolved by now if Rail Ministers actually done the job that they were supposed to do.

As I was saying, quite frankly the Prime Minister has job security that employees can only dream of. Put simply, fire and rehire is not a negotiating tactic but a direct threat to workers, it has no place in our modern Great Britain, and the Government should be ashamed that fire and rehire has been allowed to proliferate on their watch.

I hope that the Minister has some good news for the thousands of people who have been affected by this abhorrent tactic, and for the millions more who could be at risk from it. It is disappointing that not a single Conservative colleague—apart from the Minister—has come to speak for their constituents. We should be acting in cross-party solidarity to battle against fire and rehire on our constituents’ behalf, and to press Ministers to finally introduce legislation.

We should have working standards that we are proud of and that celebrate our country’s fantastic workforce, but the Government seem intent on a race to the bottom when it comes to workers’ rights. Warm words will not do it any more; clear-cut legislation will.