The letter from some business lobby groups today calling on the Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald to walk away from her flagship Good Jobs Bill is based on little evidence and few specific objections to the most comprehensive updating of employment law in a generation.
This legislation has been in train for over two years since the return of devolution in February 2024. There has been detailed consultation, ongoing discussion and numerous meetings with business and employer groups as well as trade unions. If this is not the time to push through legislation which is expressly supported by a clear majority of MLAs and Executive parties, when is?
The Labour government in Westminster has recently completed all stages of its landmark Employment Rights Act, and they started after the General Election in July 2024. Much of that legislation is in the Good Jobs Bill, along with other laws passed at Westminster under successive governments, including under Conservative Prime Ministers. The inflation of recent months has not forced the Starmer government to scrap that law, and it is a strange argument to say that uncertainty in global markets should mean continued uncertainty for workers on precarious contracts.
The issue is not time. The issue is will. This cynical letter to the Minister is an attempt to block positive change that people understand and want. A recent Lucidtalk poll showed huge support from voters across all NI parties for action to prevent exploitative Zero-Hour Contracts, for workers to have reasonable notice of shift changes, and for workers to have the right to be able to access a trade union in their workplace for help with employment issues.
What exactly are the problems business lobbyists have with those improvements? Most firms being represented by these 20 lobby groups are practicing already many of these proposed improvements. The only firms who will benefit from the Good Jobs Bill being stalled are those who are undercutting good employers.
This is a time-wasting exercise, and these business lobby groups would be better off engaging seriously in the updating our employment laws than seeking the Minister give up on reforms which will benefit workers and the economy as a whole.
The Good Jobs Bill is not theirs to prevent. It is the task and responsibility of the NI Assembly and Executive to follow through on their publicly stated commitments and complete the legislation by next spring. This is an opportunity for the Assembly and Executive to demonstrate something they have struggled to do, bring about positive change.
