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Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch are insulting the public’s intelligence and punters up and down the country by conflating harassment and abuse with pub banter, the TUC said yesterday (Monday).

• NEW TUC polling shows protecting workers from harassment “hugely popular” with public – despite Tory and Reform attacks on policy    
• Third party harassment protection one of most popular policies in the Employment Rights Bill – second only to ending fire and rehire  
• Union body says it shows how “out of touch” the Tories and Reform are 

The Conservatives and Reform have both mischaracterised the government’s plans to protect workers from third-party harassment – from abusive customers, patients and punters – as an end to pub banter. 

The TUC says the policy is about decency and common sense, and will ensure employers take all reasonable steps to protect their staff from violence, harassment and abuse.  

Hugely popular  

The intervention comes as the TUC publishes new polling which shows protecting workers from harassment is one of the most popular policies in the Employment Rights Bill – second only to ending fire and rehire. 

Eight in ten (79%) support the Government’s plans to protect workers from harassment, according to a new nationally representative poll of 5,000 people.  

Just 14% of respondents said they did not support the policy. 

The polling comes after a concerted push by the Conservatives and Reform to attack the policy.  

The Employment Rights Bill returns to parliament this week and Tory peers have said publicly they will be opposing the policy. 

The TUC says the polling shows how out of touch the Conservatives and Reform are from the public at large.  

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak yesterday said:  

“Nobody should be abused while doing their job. But sadly too many pub staff, shop workers and NHS workers face this kind of behaviour. 

“The Employment Rights Bill will introduce new protections for workers from harassment and abuse.  

“This is about basic decency and common sense. It has nothing to do with ordinary pub banter. 

"Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch are insulting the public’s intelligence by conflating abuse and harassment with banter.  

“Protecting workers from harassment is one of the most popular policies in the government’s Employment Rights Bill – this just shows how out of touch Reform and the Tories are.” 

Leading pollster Peter McLeod who conducted the poll for the TUC yesterday said: 

“Protecting workers from harassment is the kind of common-sense improvement to working conditions that people like about the Employment Rights Bill.  

“I’m not surprised to see it rank highly in the poll, because when we discussed it in focus groups, it just made sense.  

“I don’t think the opposition arguments about pub banter will go anywhere – I read out something similar in the focus groups and it fell totally flat.”

Editors Note’s

• New polling: Hold Sway polled a nationally representative sample of 5,000 adults in Great Britain online between 4 and 9 March. Quotas and weights were applied to ensure representation on age, gender, region, ethnicity, social grade, education and past voting behaviour.
  Hold Sway is an insight and strategy agency founded by Peter McLeod, a pollster with 20 years’ experience in UK and international opinion research. 
• About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living. 

Contacts: 

TUC press office  
media@tuc.org.uk   
020 7467 1248