BRIGHTON — Two unions raised the prospect of breaking their financial ties to the Labour Party if the government were to water down its flagship employment rights legislation, three people with knowledge of a private meeting told POLITICO.

The concern was raised at the general council of the Trades Union Congress Monday by officials from the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), which between them donated £700,000 to Labour last year.

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward told the meeting his union would come under serious pressure to disaffiliate from Labour if the party were to backslide on its employment rights pledges, one of the three people said. ASLEF Assistant General Secretary Simon Weller made broadly similar comments, another of the people told POLITICO.

It comes after a third union, Unite, held an internal consultation about its continuing affiliation with the party. It could hold a vote of members on the issue at its next “rules conference,” scheduled for 2027. Unite is a major backer of Labour, donating £1.8 million to the party last year.

Unions — which are holding their annual congress in Brighton — have voiced concern after Angela Rayner and Justin Madders, the two ministers who have overseen the government’s Employment Rights Bill, lost their jobs and were replaced last week. The bill pledges protection against unfair dismissal and a ban on “exploitative” zero-hour contracts, and is entering its final parliamentary stages.

Downing Street moved to quash any suggestion of backsliding Monday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said the government was “absolutely committed” to the bill, which would be “the biggest single upgrade of workers rights in a generation.” 

Several union officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, suggested their concerns revolved around the detail and timing of implementation, rather than whether the bill itself would be changed.

Eleven unions remain affiliated to Labour. Their officials take part in the party’s internal democracy in exchange for hefty financial backing.

One general secretary voiced doubt that either the CWU or ASLEF — whose members have voted to stay affiliated in the past — would disaffiliate, but said they believed “the genie is out of the bottle” with Unite.

A second general secretary pointed out that union chiefs are trying to balance government relationships with anger from their left-wing members at what some see as an insufficiently radical government. “They’re really struggling to hold the line,” the general secretary added.