Dystopia...

Builders will have to get training in 'respectful behaviour' to tackle the 'culture of crude banter' on construction sites under Labour's new workers' rights laws. The human rights watchdog published guidance on the 'legal obligations' for bosses yesterday as Angela Rayner's controversial 'banter ban' came into force.The 141-page Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance gives an example of a large construction firm and lists 14 changes it would have to make to comply with Labour's new laws.

This Labour government seems set on using the plot of the movie ‘Demolition Man’ for ideas. 

The fictional construction firm has a 'high risk of sexual harassment' because it has a male-dominated workforce and 'a culture of crude banter', the watchdog's example warns. It adds that the company would have to take 'urgent action' to create a 'more inclusive workforce culture' and prevent any harassment on site – or face the threat of legal challenges and huge fines. Among the steps the construction firm would have to take to comply with Labour's laws would be 'sending a formal letter to all clients and contractors to advise of the firm's refreshed stance on tackling sexual harassment'.

Funny how they have chosen a building site as an example to create their example from, and not a mosque, which is far more misogynistic, but no doubt gets an exemption for religious reasons…

And bosses would have to run 'training for all staff, with particular emphasis on inclusion, respectful behaviour and the importance [of] all staff reporting any sexual harassment', the guidance adds.

Because no system of oppression can flourish without a class of informer.

Tory business spokesman Julia Lopez said: 'Labour's banter ban has only been in force for a day and has already reached the building site, with construction firms facing yet more red tape and training requirements to police workplace conversations. 

'Labour is creating a climate where employers are left walking on eggshells, worrying about innocent comments their staff make that could end up falling foul of the new regime.'

And that isn't even the half of it! 

Small-boat migrants working in Britain illegally can sue their bosses for harassment under Labour's strengthened workers' rights laws, new guidance warns. The human rights watchdog has published fresh direction on the 'legal obligations' for bosses to tackle harassment after Angela Rayner's Employment Rights Act came into force on Friday.The guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) includes the case of a 'migrant worker without a valid work permit' to explain what could now constitute harassment.

If you wanted to destroy a country without actually going to war, then these sort of laws are exactly how you would go about it!

You Can Never Close 'The Disadvantage Gap'

The gap between how well pupils from better-off backgrounds perform at school compared with their classmates from lower-income households has widened, according to a new report. Despite some improvements in the years since Covid, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said the disadvantage gap had widened again in England and was still bigger "at every phase" of school than it was before the pandemic.

Ah, ‘before the pandemic’. Nicely slipped in there, that mad time when all plans were derailed, even socialist ones. 

The Department for Education said it was working to close the disadvantage gap by delivering opportunities for every child, including expanding government-funded childcare and extending eligibility for free school meals.

Working to close the disadvantage gap by funnelling money, taxpayer money at that, towards a hopeless cause. Typical socialist trick.

The EPI said the overall difference in academic achievement between low-income students and their wealthier peers was now 17% greater for children in early years than it was before Covid.

Hardly a crisis that requires government intervention, is it? 

"The size of the gap between the educational outcomes of children from more and less advantaged backgrounds is a scourge on our society," Julie McCulloch, chief executive of the EPI said.

Really? I can think of many things which could truly be considered a scourge on society, but this is not one of then. 

The EPI made a number of recommendations in its report for how to achieve it, including widening access to free funded childcare to all children, and increasing the amount of money schools can receive for the number of children they teach who are eligible for free school meals.

The Local Government Association called for more investment in the SEND workforce, and for a review into which children qualify for funded childcare hours, to make sure "those on lower incomes do not miss out".

The Department for Education said the government would do "whatever it takes" to ensure every child had access to opportunity, regardless of their background.

If some children don't take advantage of the access that already exists what more should be done is up to their parents, not the governement.