A panel discussion on how employment rights and corporate governance reform can help the government to boost pay and productivity and reduce inequality (12:30-14:00, Tuesday 26 November)
Date/Time: 12:30-14:00, 26 November 2024
Speakers:
- Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee
- Frances O’Grady, Labour peer in the House of Lords and former TUC General Secretary
- Chris Rees, Professor of Employment Relations, Royal Holloway
- Paddy Goffey, Researcher, High Pay Centre
- Luke Hildyard, Executive Director, High Pay Centre
At this event, a panel of policy experts with backgrounds in academia, think tanks, business and Parliament will discuss options for the new Government’s legislative agenda on business and employment, including recommendations from the High Pay Centre’s new report, ‘A Charter for Fair Pay’, and ask how best to deliver an economy for the long-term that works for everybody.
The Government have introduced an Employment Rights Bill in October 2024, hailed as the biggest boost to employment rights for decades, as well as plans in the King’s Speech for a Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, for this parliament. The bills represent a major opportunity to reboot the UK economy to make it fairer and more productive, with scope for changes that could lead to better pay and workplace participation, including a new framework for trade unions and industrial relations.
The High Pay Centre’s new report ‘Charter for Fair Pay’ sets out a series of new policies for empowering workers, enabling a more participatory business culture, boosting pay and productivity and reducing income inequality including recommendations for the successful implementation of the government’s agenda to support working people. As the first of the new reforms begin the process of Parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation, this is now a vital time to reflect on the new Government’s work to date and discuss the prospects for better working lives.
The research has been funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.