Both Green Party peers voted against all Conservative amendments during the final stage of the Employment Bill being passed into law and voted for the overall Bill. Our MPs did the same.  Even though the government watered down the bill to backtrack slightly on employment rights from day one, the Employment Bill was a step forward.

We believe the bill didn’t go far enough, so Jenny signed a large number of amendments put forward by a Labour peer during the second reading, but none of these gained enough support on the government benches to be taken to a vote at Report stage. These covered:

238 This amendment would establish a clear positive right to strike (and to take action short of a strike)

239 These amendments would remove section 223 of the 1992 Act which renders industrial action unlawful if one of the reasons for the industrial action is that the employer has dismissed one or more workers for taking unofficial industrial action

240 These amendments would remove the provisions (in sections 224 and 244) that render unlawful all forms of ‘secondary’ industrial action including the rights of pickets to picket places of work other than their own

241 This amendment would restore the law permitting industrial action to be taken to achieve recognition for collective bargaining

242 This amendment would remove the obligation on a trade union to give notice (and a copy ballot paper) to the employer of any proposed industrial action ballot

243 This amendment would restore to trade unions the freedom to choose which constituencies they will ballot

249 This amendment would remove the ambiguity as to the need to send out the ballot result by post to members and employers and enable them or any member of the public to access the result online

Report stage in the Lords

The Green peers opposed three of the four amendments put forward at Report Stage but voted for one suggestion as it appeared at first sight to offer workers more choice on deciding their own hours when signing a contract. After discussions with the trade union USDAW, the peers voted with the government to oppose this amendment when it came back to the Lords for ping pong, as it actually favoured unscrupulous employers.