The Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill (ERB) for Great Britain, whose dozens of clauses UNISON has had a decisive role in shaping, is currently moving through Parliament, with the likelihood of being passed by the summer.

Recent UNISON articles have discussed different ways in which the bill will strengthen the rights of individuals, whether maternal and parental rights, flexible working, protection from discrimination and harassment, or improving the pay and conditions of such maligned members as school support staff and care workers.

Now, Maggi Ferncombe, UNISON’s director of political strategy and transformation, and Shantha David, its head of legal services, talk to Demetrios Matheou about the impact of the bill on collective rights, in particular the ability of trade unions to successfully serve their members without restriction.

Demetrios: Before we talk about the bill itself, can you say something about the climate that it’s seeking to change.

Maggi: Soon after the coalition government came to power, in 2010, the then chancellor decided that the way to revive the economy after the crash in 2008 was to bring in austerity. And the trade union and labour movements were very successful in showing that this response was failing. Public services were on their knees and, by and large, people started to understand that the blame lay with the government and not necessarily with the local hospital or the local council.

UNISON’s response, too, was to continue to...

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