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Shares for rights idea defeated in Lords

George Osborne’s controversial ‘shares for rights’ proposals for workers and businesses has suffered a defeat in the House of Lords.

The Chancellor’s proposals to exchange rights on unfair dismissal, redundancy and flexible working, for shares in businesses, lost 232 votes to 178 on Wednesday night.

The idea was given a mixed reception as some industry experts had raised concern about a likely lack of take-up for the scheme.

TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “This humiliating defeat reflects the near universal thumbs-down it has received from business and unions.

“Some employers have said that employment rights should not be for sale, and many others have said that they simply see no use for the scheme as anything other than a tax dodge.

“The margin of defeat – a big victory for union campaigning – suggests that ministers should quietly abandon this policy.”

Iain Hasdell, CEO of the Employee Ownership Association, said: “I am delighted to see that the now infamous rights for shares scheme has been overturned by the House of Lords. Our member businesses and the employee owners within them were alarmed that the Government’s proposals might redefine employee ownership as a model in which worker rights on such matters as redundancy and unfair dismissal have to be sacrificed by employees in order for them to be allowed an ownership stake in the business in which they work.

“We have consistently told Ministers and Parliamentarians that that there is no need to dilute the rights of workers in order to grow employee ownership, and it is gratifying to see that Peers from all parties including Lord Adonis, Baroness Brinton, Lord Deben and Baroness Howe have listened to our concerns and joined together to remove, for the time being at least, this flawed concept from the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .