JEREMY Corbyn has called for action to end an "epidemic" of low pay and job insecurity in Britain, which he said was damaging the whole of society.
Speaking to the TUC annual conference in Brighton, the Labour leader dismissed a Government promise of flexibility on public sector pay as an attempt to "divide and rule" workers and promised that Labour would scrap wage restraint across the board.
And he accused Theresa May of failing to stand up to employers such as Sports Direct and McDonald's, which have been targeted by unions for their treatment of staff pay and conditions.
"Modern Britain is marked by growing insecurity at work which undermines and holds back both low-paid workers and the better-paid," said Mr Corbyn.
"This escalating insecurity is not only bad for individual workers and their families... it is also bad for our economy and for our whole society.
"This epidemic of low pay, which is closely tied up with insecurity at work, ruins people's lives, leaving workers and their families locked in poverty.
"It damages the economy, as people have less to spend. It costs us all, because it means more paid in tax credits and housing benefits from the public purse, and it means less tax being paid to fund public services."
Mr Corbyn said the pay gap at fast food chain McDonald's, where the boss earned 1,300 times more than the lowest-paid worker, was "symbolic of the deep inequality and injustice that scars our society".
Last week, when raising the issue at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, he said: "Theresa May couldn't bring herself to utter one word of condemnation of McDonald's or Sports Direct. This from a Prime Minister who tried to rebrand the Conservatives as the workers' party.
"It's essential we work together as a movement, trade unions and the Labour Party as part of local communities, to stamp out low pay and insecurity."
Mr Corbyn accused the Tories of wanting to sacrifice workers’ rights on "the altar of a failing and ever more ruthless form of capitalism".
The Labour leader accused Downing Street of planning to use Brexit to award ministers sweeping powers allowing them to "rip up" workers’ rights without full parliamentary scrutiny.
He claimed the real divide over EU withdrawal was a “Tory Brexit to drive down standards or a Labour version that puts jobs first”.
Mr Corbyn made clear that when Britain left the EU the current free movement rules would end.
"It isn't migrants who drive down wages and conditions, but unscrupulous employers, supported by a Government that slashes rights and protections at work whenever it gets the chance," he said.
In a speech that was regularly interrupted by bursts of applause, the Labour leader promised: “We don’t know how long it will take but this weak and chaotic government will be prised out of Downing Street and we know that the advances made in the General Election in June are a powerful springboard to win the radical Labour Government we want to see.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel