Labour vows to hand MORE control to trade unions with employers able to be held to ransom

Speaking ahead of today’s announcement, Starmer said: “We will level up workers’ rights, so every person has security, respect and dignity at work.”

Outlining the legislative agenda for the year ahead in the House of Lords, King Charles added: “My Government is committed to making work pay and will legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights.

“It will seek to establish the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models.”

Labour’s plan on trade unions centres around removing unnecessary restrictions, including minimum service levels.

Minimum service levels were introduced by the Tories in 2022 to ensure the delivery of restricted services during industrial action.

However, Rishi Sunak’s Government were ultimately left frustrated after Aslef warned it would respond to any enforcement of the minimum service levels with more strike action.

The Prime Minister instead hopes to resume good faith negotiating and bargaining with trade unions.

The announcement comes after more than five million days lost in labour disputes between June 2022 and December 2023.

The figure represented the highest over a 19-month period since 5.3 million were lost from July 1989 to January 1991.

Labour’s employment reforms, dubbed Make Work Pay, will cover the entirety of Great Britain.

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Starmer says he is hoping to forge a fresh partnership between businesses, trade unions and working people.

Labour claims the plans will deliver a genuine living wage to standardise hourly rates for the lowest paid.

The controversial zero hours contract will also be banned as a separate clampdown with look to “end the scourge” of fire and rehire and fire and replace schemes.

Workers will also be entitled to more rights upon entering employment rather than having to wait two years.

The change will cover unfair dismissal and parental leave.

However, the change on trade unions comes after Labour faced some criticism ahead of the King’s Speech.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “My message is very clear, no rolling back . . . if there is any more rolling back on the New Deal, they can expect a hostile reaction to it.”

GMB general secretary Gary Smith is also putting pressure on Labour to push through new nuclear power stations in Scotland.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting also spent last week meeting junior doctors in a bid to halt strike action.

However, Streeting stressed Starmer’s Government cannot afford or commit to the 35 per cent increase requested.

He said: "This is an important reset moment I think in the relationship between junior doctors and their Government."

BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: "Mr Streeting has said pay restoration will be a journey: we are looking to set off.

"We thank the Secretary of State for the meeting and have agreed to meet again next week."

Dr Laurenson added: "This was definitely a collaborative talk, and I think it's fair to say we have no plans at the moment to call for strike action."