Could banning zero-hour contracts be Labour’s downfall?

The party’s ‘new deal’ for working people – billed by Keir Starmer as the biggest levelling-up of employment rights for a generation – enjoys wide support among the public, the trade unions are on side, and it would boost the economy. So why is the opposition so nervous about it, asks Andrew Grice

This week, the Labour leadership met union bosses to agree to ‘the biggest levelling-up of workers’ rights for a generation’ (Getty)

Despite the painted smiles as Labour and the trade unions declared an outbreak of peace in a joint statement last night, tensions remain between the two sides.

In public, the unions declared victory after their three-hour meeting with Keir Starmer and shadow ministers confirmed Labour’s commitment to what Starmer has called the biggest “levelling-up of workers’ rights” for a generation. “We stood firm, stood together, and those in the leader’s office who wanted to water it down retreated,” one union official told me.

Privately, however, some union figures fear the Labour leader will bow to pressure from business to dilute the package, which is championed by his deputy Angela Rayner. It originally included protection against unfair dismissal from day one of employment; a ban on zero-hours contracts and “fire and rehire”; fair pay agreements; higher sick pay; better maternity rights; and a “right to switch off” when not at work.