LABOUR’S Employment Rights Bill must put power into the hands of workers, not employers’ human resources departments, trade unionists warned today.

A fringe meeting at the TUC Women’s Conference highlighted concerns about the forthcoming legislation, which will reach report stage in Commons next week.

BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley said the Bill could bring important improvements in key areas for female workers, but with her union’s members affected most by insecure work, she said that a full ban on zero-hour contracts was needed.

Ms Woolley said the legislation would place a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment, adding: “But we need to ensure that there is stronger enforcement and union involvement, because self-policing by employers won’t work.

“If the Bill’s serious about tackling harassment, it must put power into the hands of workers and not just HR departments.”

She said there were “serious gaps in women’s workplace rights,” adding: “We must fight for better bargaining rights alongside this Bill.

“We must continue to organise, because no law is going to be a substitute for worker power.”

University and College Union president Maxine Looby said the Bill “looks good on paper,” but she warned that it meant very little to women affected by intersectionality or in need of reasonable adjustments.

“If it’s not implemented through collective action, I can’t see how much of a difference it’s going to make,” she said.

“Our employers have very little respect for workers and workers’ rights. They [will not be] willing to take this Bill seriously and implement it.”

Jackie Marshall of the Prison Officers Association, whose members are barred from taking industrial action by section 127 of the Public Order Act, said that the current government has not met the union and that the legislation would not reinstate prison officers’ right to strike.