Poor conditions, low unionisation and weak protection allow employers to exploit workers. Labour s employment legislation shows that workers cannot rely on the government for basic rights and freedoms at work. However recognition will only be granted if at least 40 per cent of all those eligible to vote, vote in favour. Recognition is automatic if unions can demonstrate 50 per cent membership in a workplace. Employers can derecognise unions if they prove that they employ fewer than 21 workers.
Workers can only claim unfair dismissal if they have been employed for a year or more.
The maximum compensation awardable is 50,000. Tory restrictions on industrial action remain in place. It will be unlawful to sack strikers during the first eight weeks of a dispute. However, employment law in Britain remains firmly weighed in the favour of employers. This is unlikely to worry many union leaders who see the future of trade unionism as working in partnership with employers.