Trade unions should be in every workplace, the Business Secretary has suggested.
Jonathan Reynolds said that some of the “strongest sectors” in the UK were those with union representation and that firms needed to recognise what unions “bring to the table”.
The Business Secretary, who is jointly in charge of the New Deal for Working People alongside Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said Labour recognised the importance of a “collective employee voice” in the workplace.
Asked at an event on the fringes of the Labour conference whether unions should be in every workplace, Mr Reynolds said: “I think there are many, many successful businesses in the UK that are familiar with dealing with unions, and there are advantages of having that collective employee voice in the workplace.
“We obviously are the Labour Party, we think that is a good thing, I think if you look at some of the strongest sectors of the UK economy, in the key sectors with significant union representation.
“The fact is most of the unions at this conference have fought harder for British industry and key sectors than the Conservative Party has for the last decade. So I think we’ve got to recognise what they bring to the table and for me, the right to be represented in the workplace is a fundamental human right.
“That’s equally the case if people don’t want that representation. But I think anyone, no matter what their politics, would recognise that’s a legitimate part of representation of the workforce in any employer/employee situation.”
