A prominent trade union leader has called on the government to enforce statutory union recognition for small firms’ employees, claiming that the current exemption is “unjustified”.

Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, called for the Employment Relations Bill, which received its second reading in Parliament on Wednesday, to be amended to impose stricter controls on small businesses.

Woodley said that although he welcomed the positive proposals in the Bill, it didn’t change the fact that UK labour laws are the most restrictive in the western world.

“At exactly the right time for the government to focus on their core values of fairness and social justice, they have shied away from tackling the workplace issues that would make real improvements to the lives of working men and women.

“Why should someone working in a small firm not be entitled to basic employment rights, such as representation by the trade union of your choice?

“The exemption for small employers is an unjustified denial of the right to representation for more than five million workers in the UK, some of whom are most in need of it,” he said.

As reported by Startups.co.uk, union groups have repeatedly called for small firms to have mandatory union recognition for their workers, claiming that many employees are not protected from employer abuses.

As the law stands, companies with less than 21 employees do not have to allow union representation.

Business leaders have opposed union attempts to change this law, arguing that small firms do not have the manpower or resources to allow workers to take time off to become union reps and get involved in union activity.

Trade unions were hopeful that the new Employment Bill, which was unveiled in the Queen’s Speech in November, would widen recognition to small firms and abolish the ‘eight week rule’ which allows employers to fire workers who have been on strike for this period of time.

Although the government did not include such measures in the Bill, there is still time for amendments to be made before the legislation is passed.

Significant proposals already in the Bill include measures to speed up industrial disputes and stricter enforcement of the minimum wage.