The Reform UK leader has lashed out at Labour’s bill, moaning that protecting staff from harassment will stifle free speech in pub debates – but workers who have suffered from abuse have hit back
Nigel Farage has been accused of being ‘on the side of harassers not working people’ – after claiming measures to protect staff from abuse could spell the end of ‘pub banter’.
New third-party harassment rules will be debated by MPs this week as part of the Employment Rights Bill – and will provide hard working staff with legal protection from abusive customers, patients and drinkers.
The Bill says employers must take “reasonable steps”, for example, to protect bartenders from harassment by customers.
But the Reform UK leader has lashed out at the measures, moaning they will stifle free speech in pub debates.
But, Finnola Tzagkaraki, who works for a large supermarket, knows first hand the bad behaviour that workers frequently have to put up with.
“One day I saw a shoplifter stuffing goods from the supermarket shelves into a bag,” she told the Sunday Mirror.
“When I approached him he shouted misogynistic, racist abuse at me – including threats to come for my children if I got in his way. The incident broke me. I physically couldn’t stand and was really distressed. No-one should feel threatened at work.”
She added: “These measures couldn’t come fast enough. Yet politicians – like Nigel Farage – don’t think I and other workers should be protected from workplace abuse.
“He thinks these protections will end ‘pub banter’. Remember that the next time you see him claiming to be on the side of working people.
“He’s on the side of harassment, exploitation and bad bosses.”
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Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Protecting workers from harassment and abuse is just basic decency and common sense.
“But the likes of Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage think that workers don’t deserve these vital protections.
“The Tories and Reform are conflating abuse and harassment with pub banter – it’s plain wrong and insulting.
“Too many retail workers, pub staff and hospital workers are abused on a daily basis – especially women.
”That’s why Labour ’s Employment Rights Bill is so important – it will ensure employers have a duty to protect their staff from harassment and abuse, as well as introducing other long overdue rights like ending fire and rehire and banning exploitative zero hours contracts.”