At this month’s full council meeting, councillors debated a motion tabled by Cllr. Jon-Paul Blundell (Lab, Cefn Glas) calling for Bridgend Council to support the UK Parliament’s Employment Rights Bill.
The full version of the motion is available here. In summary:
- Bridgend Council notes the Employment Rights Bill.
- The council notes measures in the Bill including banning “exploitative zero hour contracts”, ending “fire and rehire”, and extending rights around unfair dismissal, paternity leave, bereavement leave, statutory sick pay and prevention of sexual harassment.
- BCBC believes the measures in the Bill will be “the biggest upgrade in employment rights in a generation” and will write to the UK Government on behalf of Bridgend residents supporting the measures in the Bill.
Cllr. Blundell told the chamber too many people in Bridgend and the rest of UK have long faced uncertainty in their working lives. This law is a chance to back real change, raising living standards and making a “tangible difference” to Bridgend residents.
Cllr. Owain Clatworthy (Reform, Pyle, Kenfig Hill & Cefn Cribwr) raised a point of order (when a councillor thinks the council’s rules are being broken) in an attempt to effectively cancel the debate.
Cllr. Clatworthy said the motion breached the council’s procedure rules because it “expressed a political opinion rather than fact” and suggested consensus where there wasn’t one. This was promptly dismissed by the council’s legal officer. Having looked at the procedure rules in BCBC’s Constitution (pdf p27-41), there doesn’t appear to be anything referring to Cllr. Clatworthy’s complaint.Â
BCBC already meets or exceeds the Bill’s provisions
Joint Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr. Eugene Caparros (Lab, Brackla East & Coychurch) – through his trade union work – noted there were good employers out there who don’t mistreat their staff. However, there were plenty of “horror stories” of people being threatened with dismissal for sickness, or reassigned at short notice to jobs below their skill set. The Bill was, therefore, a restoration of rights that was long overdue.
One of the main arguments against the law would be increased costs – though it shouldn’t affect BCBC, as their employment terms and conditions already meet or exceed those in the Bill.
Cllr. Simon Griffiths (Lab, Brackla East & Coychurch) said “predatory” employment practices push down wages and have a knock-on impact on council finances due to council tax exemptions.
Cllr. Ross Penhale-Thomas (Ind, Maesteg West) noted there were similar arguments when the minimum wage was introduced which didn’t materialise. Despite this, the UK Government still needed to be “in listening mode” with employers.
Cllr. Martin Hughes (Lab, Maesteg East) said increased parental rights would benefit young families, who are making up an increasing proportion of the workforce profile in the county.
Although not directly related to this, Cllr. Phil Jenkins (Ind, Maesteg East) effectively asked for a future debate on the UK Government’s welfare reforms.
Councillors back extra guidance for local businesses
Raising concerns about the potential impact on smaller and medium-sized businesses, Cllr. Tim Thomas (Ind, St. Bride’s Minor & Ynysawdre) tabled an amendment calling for the council to direct local businesses to guidance – after the Bill becomes law – so they know what their responsibilities are and won’t get caught out. This was approved.
In the end, the amended motion was approved by 28 votes to 1.
