Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) support trade unions in (i) Bedfordshire, (ii) the East of England and (iii) the UK.

The government believes that trade unions play a vital role in ensuring that workers have a genuine voice at work and have the ability to act collectively.

The Employment Rights Bill represents the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. Through the Bill, we will update trade union legislation to reduce unnecessary re-strictions on trade union activity, streamline the trade union recognition process, introduce a new right of access framework and enhance the rights and protections for trade union representatives. These reforms will help ensure that industrial relations are based on good faith negotiation and collective bargaining.