Barry Gardiner called on opponents of the controversial employment mechanism to be the force behind his campaign to end the practice.
Meanwhile Banbury MP Victoria Prentis said the Government has always been clear that the use of fire and rehire tactics as part of negotiations is not acceptable.
The Dutch owners of the Ruscote Avenue, Banbury coffee factory, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), have given 291 staff (dubbed the Banbury 300) ‘fire and rehire’ notices meaning they are now under 12-week notice of dismissal. They may be re-employed if they accept new contracts, which staff say will offer lower terms and conditions and in some cases loss of thousands of pounds in pay.
Launching his Parliamentary Bill – which is introduced in the House of Commons on Wednesday – Mr Gardiner told the assembled workers: “What’s happening to you is wrong. It’s as simple as that and they know it. And it’s not just here in Banbury this is happening but up and down the country in the biggest names in British industry, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, British Gas, British Airways, Heathrow.. We’re talking about thousands of workers and their families were being told ‘you’re fired’. You can only have your job back if you accept lower pay and worse terms worse conditions. That’s not nice.
“My bill is about saying, you can’t just fire somebody and then offer them their job. My Bill is going to say let’s start with talking to each other with negotiation, with consultation. I’m hearing stories today, people telling me they’ve been working here for 37 years, that their families have worked here, their parents have worked here their children have worked here. And yet, what’s the loyalty that they have given back to you. It’s not there and it’s not right.
“So my Bill in parliament is about putting an end to them. We’ve got a hundred MPs from every single party in parliament who are supporting our Bill.”
Mr Gardiner asked…