PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Tech industry unionisation (12 January 2021)

That this House welcomes and celebrates the creation of the Alphabet Workers Union and the unionisation of hundreds of Google workers in Silicon Valley; condemns the victimisation and harassment of any worker that is seeking to have their basic right to organise and collective bargaining recognised, and aggressive behaviour by companies in the tech industry that dissuades and prevents workers from unionising; notes that Google hired a consultancy known for anti-union activity, and the US National Labor Relations Board’s complaint against Google which includes accusations of illegally spying on employees, and firing employees for attempting to unionise; recognises the growing power of the tech industry, its expansion into civic space, and the largely unregulated control tech companies have over online speech, privacy, and personal data; supports the extension of democracy into workplaces through unionisation and the progressive influence workers can have on tech companies; and calls on the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade to publicly support Google’s employees in trade negotiations with the US Government, and to advocate in these negotiations that the USA raises its labour standards and strengthens the rights of all workers, including the right to unionise.

Sponsored by:
Clive Lewis (Labour)