Motion to consider the draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces. Agreed to on division (11 to 3). Motion to consider the draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026. Agreed to on division (11 to 3).

Motion to consider the draft Code of Practice on the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces. Agreed to on division (11 to 3). Motion to consider the draft Trade Unions (Right to Access Workplaces) Regulations 2026. Agreed to on division (11 to 3).

I. Central Arbitration Committee Annual Report. 2025/26. Incl. appendices. 28p. II. Certification Officer for Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations: Annual Report 2025-2. 50p. 6III. Letter dated July 2026 from Kate Dearden MP to Liam Byrne MP regarding 2 documents for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.

I. Central Arbitration Committee Annual Report. 2025/26. Incl. appendices. 28p. II. Certification Officer for Trade Unions and Employers’ Associations: Annual Report 2025-2. 50p. 6III. Letter dated July 2026 from Kate Dearden MP to Liam Byrne MP regarding 2 documents for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.

The government has set the country on the path of national renewal, building a Britain for all on the firm foundations of security, respect and opportunity. That means creating an economy that delivers for working people: productive, profitable and growing, and creating the best environment for business by maximising job...

The government has set the country on the path of national renewal, building a Britain for all on the firm foundations of security, respect and opportunity. That means creating an economy that delivers for working people: productive, profitable and growing, and creating the best environment for business by maximising job...

My hon Friend the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection (Kate Dearden MP) has today made the following statement.

The government has set the country on the path of national renewal, building a Britain for all on the firm foundations of security, respect and opportunity. That means creating an economy...

My hon Friend the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection (Kate Dearden MP) has today made the following statement.

The government has set the country on the path of national renewal, building a Britain for all on the firm foundations of security, respect and opportunity. That means creating an economy...

Motion that this House has considered trade union access to workplaces. Agreed to on question.

Motion that this House has considered trade union access to workplaces. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered trade union access to workplaces.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I draw hon. Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests in relation to support from trade unions.

It is important to open with...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered trade union access to workplaces.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I draw hon. Members’ attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests in relation to support from trade unions.

It is important to open with...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. I want to tell a short story very quickly, for the record. When as a 20-year-old I went to work for Henry Denny in Belfast, the guy says to me, “You have to be a member of the union.” I said,...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. I want to tell a short story very quickly, for the record. When as a 20-year-old I went to work for Henry Denny in Belfast, the guy says to me, “You have to be a member of the union.” I said,...

The hon. Gentleman is perfectly right. It may have been compulsory, but it is certainly one of the better decisions that he has ever made.

The problem of trade union access to workplaces is long-standing. Employers have often restricted union representatives from entering their sites, particularly in high-profile industrial settings. The...

The hon. Gentleman is perfectly right. It may have been compulsory, but it is certainly one of the better decisions that he has ever made.

The problem of trade union access to workplaces is long-standing. Employers have often restricted union representatives from entering their sites, particularly in high-profile industrial settings. The...

I hugely thank my hon. Friend for the work, effort and determination that he put into seeing the Employment Rights Bill through the Commons—absolutely outstanding work. On access to the workplace, does he agree that any individual who wants to speak to a trade union or union representative in the...

I hugely thank my hon. Friend for the work, effort and determination that he put into seeing the Employment Rights Bill through the Commons—absolutely outstanding work. On access to the workplace, does he agree that any individual who wants to speak to a trade union or union representative in the...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I thank him for his kind comments. I will return to the issue of digital access shortly.

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and I thank him for his kind comments. I will return to the issue of digital access shortly.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I draw attention to my chairship of the GMB parliamentary group. I am glad that he mentioned GMB’s frustrations with Amazon. Another sector in which that union and other unions have been frustrated is social care, which has...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. I draw attention to my chairship of the GMB parliamentary group. I am glad that he mentioned GMB’s frustrations with Amazon. Another sector in which that union and other unions have been frustrated is social care, which has...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The fair pay agreement architecture gives us a real opportunity to enhance the provisions.

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The fair pay agreement architecture gives us a real opportunity to enhance the provisions.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate to the House. I commend the University and College Union, which was incredibly supportive to me and my colleagues in my former life as an academic. It was only because our employer was decent that it was able to...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate to the House. I commend the University and College Union, which was incredibly supportive to me and my colleagues in my former life as an academic. It was only because our employer was decent that it was able to...

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s timely intervention. We know that in schools, the National Education Union and the NASUWT union face obstacles from multi-academy trusts such as the Harris Federation, where access is often limited to outside working hours, when staff are rushing home to pick up children,...

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s timely intervention. We know that in schools, the National Education Union and the NASUWT union face obstacles from multi-academy trusts such as the Harris Federation, where access is often limited to outside working hours, when staff are rushing home to pick up children,...

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. Does he agree that in sectors such as social care, which are facing recruitment and retention crises, better trade union access would improve working conditions and staff retention, which ultimately is only for the better for good employers?

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. Does he agree that in sectors such as social care, which are facing recruitment and retention crises, better trade union access would improve working conditions and staff retention, which ultimately is only for the better for good employers?

My hon. Friend makes an apposite point. We hear constantly about the crises of recruitment and retention in our core public services, among others. Only by strengthening workers’ access to trade union representation will we ever conquer the rolling crisis across our economy. It is an important point.

I very much...

My hon. Friend makes an apposite point. We hear constantly about the crises of recruitment and retention in our core public services, among others. Only by strengthening workers’ access to trade union representation will we ever conquer the rolling crisis across our economy. It is an important point.

I very much...

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate; I refer Members to my entry in the register of interests. Does he agree that trade union access will increase collective bargaining, which drives up pay and conditions for our constituents?

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this really important debate; I refer Members to my entry in the register of interests. Does he agree that trade union access will increase collective bargaining, which drives up pay and conditions for our constituents?