THE Tories will be going into the conference season spouting about falling levels of unemployment, but as we all know those figures will hide the true story of low wages, zero-hours contracts and increasing instability. 

Workers are at the mercy of some Dickensian-style employers, leading in some cases to clashes like the appalling scenes we saw at Grangemouth last year. 

This Tory-led government doesn’t care about this imbalance and our young people are growing up to believe that employees are at the mercy of their employers — take a wrong step and you will be fired or be willing to give up your rights and fly up the career ladder.

I propose we revive proposals from a bygone era, before we knew the horrors of Thatcherism.

In the 1970s, the Labour government looked into the possibility of having union-elected worker representatives on company boards. 

It wasn’t limited to Britain and, while we abandoned this idea, a number of European countries have integrated this model into their businesses.

This week I am publishing, with the Centre for Labour and Social Studies, an article that gives my take and research on this concept. 

The TUC is also working hard towards this and it feels like we are reaching a critical point where this may be the turning we need to bring responsible and ethical management back into British business. 

I commissioned research into how this works in Sweden. There are certainly differences between our system and theirs and, as interviewees were keen to point out, the Swedish culture has long been focused on finding peaceful agreements in the workplace, the “Saltsjobaden spirit,” as it has become to be known.

We seem to have a more unfortunate tradition of clashes, with companies holding their employees to ransom, a mentality that really took off during Thatcher’s government, but which has never really left us.

The inclusion of union-elected employee representatives sitting as company directors could be a first step towards finding a more peaceful arrangement, and one that would go hand in hand with boosting collective bargaining, the core of our union activities.

There are benefits for all involved, including businesses. Employees are able to present issues at board level, trade unions form better working relationships with management and boards benefit from the expertise of employees working on the shop floor. 

In Sweden this has led to issues being brought up that simply wouldn’t usually. 

One company said that the worker-director would raise their hand to ask how to manage health and safety issues, whether the company had insurance, whether they helped out the workers’ families. 

Another said that the worker-director’s input was very useful in the board’s project review on risk management. Relations between unions and management are positive, with management opening all the gates and feeling as though they have nothing to hide, as one union said.

I think we are facing a popular tide against aggressive business and towards a better working relationship between employees and employers. 

The political landscape has changed significantly since the crash in 2008. 

We talk more about responsible business and are quicker to judge those companies that take advantage of their employees, their customers or the countries in which they are hosted. 

We only need to look at the outcry against companies found to be paying little or no corporation tax, the fight for a living wage in companies across the country, the boycotting of retail outlets found to be using supply chains that offer appalling workers’ rights and the backlash against energy companies increasing their bills while bringing in billions in profits. 

These protests and campaigns extend far wider than the labour movement and in general I believe people are becoming increasingly aware that the products they buy should be sourced in a way that offers dignity and rights across the entire supply chain. 

As we look towards this conference season, the one in which our priorities for the next Parliament are defined, I hope we can consider finding a solution to the animosity rooted in decades of division. Anything has to be better than what we have now.

So I propose the 2015 Labour government runs a pilot scheme to find a way that works for us. 

Companies could bid for the opportunity to take part, with the incentive of financial support available for the training of employees. 

These businesses would have the chance to shape the legislation based on how it works for them, but a committee spearheaded by trade unions would evaluate proposals to ensure there is true workplace democracy.

So let’s get on board, and make this the Parliament where workplace warfare is put to bed. 

Let’s start working together and have unions playing their positive role right up from grass roots to board level. 

Jim Sheridan is Labour MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire North.