by Labor is paving the way for the introduction of a four-day week in the public sector, days after a £25 billion tax hike was imposed on businesses.
Angela Rayner, the Local Government Secretary, brushed aside Whitehall opposition on Friday to the introduction of shorter working hours for equal pay at South Cambridgeshire council.
She praised the unions when she accused Conservative ministers of “micro-managing” local authorities over the policy.
It has emerged that Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has offered Tube drivers a four-day week on equal pay in response to their latest strike threat.
A letter from Nick Dent, director of TfL, to the Aslef union on Tuesday promised to “set out a proposal to deliver an average four-day working week” by January on the condition that members accept a 3.8 per cent pay rise and call out ” all pending industrial action”. Aslef strikes, planned for November 7 and November 12, were suspended that day.
Tube drivers, who earn almost £70,000 a year, currently work a five-day, 35-hour week. Aslef called the proposal a “really groundbreaking agreement” and claimed drivers would work fewer hours. The union said: “In every four-week pay period, you will work 10 hours and four days less. This also means an increase in the hourly wage rate.”
Mr Khan already gave tube workers a five per cent pay rise earlier this year, costing the taxpayer £30million and prompting accusations he had found a “magic money tree”.
Last week, Rachel Reeves angered business leaders by not only imposing a £25 billion rise in employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions but also protecting the public sector from the rise. The move ensured that the state was further expanded in comparison to the private sector.
At the Budget, the Chancellor said most state workers would receive an above-inflation pay rise of 5 per cent to 6 per cent next year and also announced extra funding for employers in the sector public sector to mitigate the rise in NI, which means that the private sector is facing the private sector. resulting in an additional burden.
Lord Rose, the chairman of Asda, on Friday became the latest senior figure to protest against Ms Reeves’ “very damaging” tax rises, warning that the supermarket would now be forced to take a hard look at the number of workers he could hire.
Ms Rayner’s decision to allow councils to allow their staff to work a four-day week was revealed in a letter from the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DHCLG) to the Lib Dem-led South Cambridgeshire district council.
The letter stated that a “best value advertisement” imposed by the previous government was not being renewed. The notice required the council to send data to the Government about the impact of the move on taxpayers, and ministers formally asked it to end the four-day week “trial”.
‘an end to micromanaging councils’
However, the letter now tells the council: “While it is not government policy to support a general move to a four-day working week for five days’ pay, we recognize that local authorities are independent employers who are appropriately responsible for the scheme. managing and organizing their own workforce.
“In turn, local voters are best placed to make decisions about the effectiveness of local authority services in their own areas.”
He says Deputy First Minister Ms Rayner is “committed to working as partners” and adds: “This means an end to the micro-management of local authorities.”
It represents a complete turnaround from last year, when Lee Rowley, the then housing minister, ordered councils to leave four-day weeks or face financial penalties.
Labor argued that a four-day week for five-day pay is not government policy, but the unions have celebrated the news.
Fran Heathcote, general secretary of the PCS union, which represents civil servants and government employees, said: “We are delighted that another employer has seen the benefits of a four-day working week, and we hope that the UK Government will do more to continue the Scottish Government’s informed view when the scheme is being trialled.”
The union is already lobbying government departments to introduce four-day week practices.
Ms Rayner, a key figure in Labour’s workers’ rights reforms, has previously voiced strong support for the four-day working week.
She told business leaders at an event in May 2023: “In terms of the four-day working week, it goes back to the first question about flexible working. If you can deliver within a four day working week, why can’t you?
The Deputy Prime Minister said that while she did not believe “you can prescribe everything to everyone”, she thought “most employers know that if you can provide people with a better work-life balance, that you will retain your team and have better productivity.”
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow business secretary, said: “Once again Labor has capitulated to their union paymasters, and the taxpayer has footed the bill.
“What it will mean is that we will pay more for less. Other unions will be fattening their lips at the prospect of this weak Labor Government.”
South Cambridgeshire district council launched a four-day week trial last year, allowing staff to cut their hours on full pay.
Its own analysis found that some services deteriorated during the first three months of the trial, with average call center times up by 14.5 per cent and only four of 12 key performance indicators on target. Spending on agency staff at two of the council’s departments increased by £180,000.
A six-month trial of a four-day week across 61 British businesses in 2022 found that revenue increased by just 1.4 per cent.
It’s all nonsense, says Farage
Nigel Farage attacked plans for such schemes during a speech at the Reform conference in Wales on Friday. He said: “They talk about four-day weeks, working from home, work-life balance. ‘Oh, we’re much more productive at home, dear.’ It’s all nonsense.”
“They have no understanding of the five and a half million men and women who run their own businesses and operate as sole traders. This Budget punishes anyone who does their own thing.”
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said of the Aslef deal: “It seems that this Government, and its friends, miss no opportunity to line the pockets of its friends with gold. The economy prospers, taxes are raised but Aslef is bought.”
Labor is increasingly bowing to union demands for pay and employment rights. Earlier this year, the Government offered junior doctors a 22 per cent pay rise over two years in a bid to end disruptive NHS strikes. In September, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, criticized Amazon for ordering staff back into the office five days a week and ending its pandemic-era work-from-home policy.
A government spokesman said: “We are committed to strengthening workers’ rights, and our landmark Employment Rights Bill will make flexible working a default.
“A four day work week for five days pay is not a government policy or something we are considering. The steps we are taking in the Employment Rights Bill will strengthen the right to ask for flexibility in how long, when and where employees work.”
