New workplace rights demanded

The job cuts by M&S led to street protests

A senior union leader has launched a campaign to give British employees the same legal rights as workers elsewhere in the European Union.

Roger Lyons of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF) wants businesses to be forced to consult workers before announcing redundancies.

The MSF says the campaign would aim to stop Britain being regarded by some businesses as a soft touch for staff cutbacks.

But it is likely to be opposed by the government, which has always argued that flexible labour laws make Britain more attractive to foreign investors.

Mr Lyons is set to launch his campaign at the MSF's annual conference in Eastbourne.

German laws hailed

Delegates are expected to hear him criticise employers who claim the new rights against arbitrary redundancies would affect investment and job creation.

"Companies still clamour to invest in Germany where such protections already exist," he is scheduled to say.

His union's proposal follows announcements of substantial job cuts by several large companies in recent months, in which British workers were not consulted.

Unions representing workers at car-maker Vauxhall and steel production company Corus were furious when massive job cuts were announced without consultation.

Legal action mounted

The MSF campaign would enable British unions to take employers to court for not consulting workers before announcing cutbacks, as is already the case elsewhere in the EU.

Marks and Spencer, which recently announced the closure of all of its branches outside the UK, is facing legal action in France for what workers claim has been lack of consultation.

Mr Lyons is also due to tell conference delegates in Eastbourne that other priorities for unions under a second-term Labour government would be enhancing family-friendly policies, securing parity of pay across industry and ending bullying at work.