Congress motions

Motion

Motion title

Employment Rights Bill – Repeal Anti Trade Union Legislation

Session

2024-2025

Meeting link

Annual Congress

Meeting date

26 May 2025

Status

Carried as amended by 68A.1 and 68A.2

Motion

68

Motion text

Congress notes the recent amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.
UCU welcomes any improvements to workers’ rights and conditions.
Congress notes with concern that the bill has been significantly weakened. In
particular, there is no outright ban of fire and rehire or zero hours contracts, no
“right to switch off”, and commitments to sectoral collective bargaining have
largely been abandoned.
Congress notes with zero-hour contracts, the Employment Rights Bill is
particularly weak. The bill must require that employers cannot avoid (subject to
penalties) independent audits, transparent reporting mechanisms, pension
recalculations, and continuous employment on a guaranteed number of stable
hours after a set period (e.g., 12 months’ regular work).
Congress believes these omissions in the bill must be corrected.
Congress resolves to:
1. Demand that the TUC implements TUC 2024 Congress policy; to call a special
congress to review and demand the Bill be strengthened.
2. Demand the TUC presses for the immediate repeal of all anti-union
legislation.
3. Demand as a minimum:
o that the promised repeal of the Minimum Service Levels Act 2023, and
the Trade Union Act 2016 should be separated from the Employment
Rights Bill and immediately voted through parliament as fast-tracked
legislation.
o that the Secretary of State for Business and Trade follow the
recommendation of the 2017 Report of the Independent Review of
Electronic Balloting for Industrial Action (“the Knight Report”) to carry
out a pilot of electronic balloting, with the view to exercising his power
under s54 of the Employment Rights Act 2004 to introduce e-ballots in
trade union disputes.
4. UCU calls on branches, working with other trade unions and student unions,
to lobby parliament for robust enforcement mechanisms for all zero-hour
contract workers.

Proposing body

South Devon College

Amended

Yes

Allocated to

Strategy and finance committee (SFC)

Notes