All of those in employment should reflect on the fact that they have employment rights, and none of those rights were gifted to you by the employer. They were fought for over decades, in bitter struggles, some of those involved in those struggles paid for those rights with their lives. The price of those rights has been paid for many fold, in hardship, blood, sweat, tears, prison and death. You insult those who suffered to win those employment rights, if you hand them away to your employer for a few pieces of worthless silver.
The government, at the behest of corporate power, will do everything it can to remove those rights by legislation, while the corporate bodies tear up employees hard won contracts. Today, September 1st. the government's, shares for rights scheme, comes into force. Simply put, this piece of legislation encourages the employee to give up some of their basic employment rights in exchange for a handful of shares in the company. Surely only an idiot can't see that you are being bribed to allow the employer to do as they wish with you and your employment rights.
If you accept this crude cheap bribe, you are creating an even harsher working environment for your kids and those who follow, you are turning the clock back several decades, you are betraying an ongoing struggle for that better world. You are also demeaning all the individuals and communities who won those bitter battles to give you a better working environment. This piece of legislation should be ridiculed and consigned to the toilet. We want a better world for all, that will never come about by throwing away what few rights we have won.
---- Employee owners lose their protection from unfair dismissal and rights to redundancy pay and flexible working, making it easier and cheaper to be sacked. In exchange, they receive tax-free shares valued at between £2,000 and £50,000 - though they are not guaranteed equal voting rights or dividends like other shareholders.
There is no guarantee that the shares would gain or even hold their value, so some individuals could end up trading basic employment rights for worthless shares, warns the TUC.----
