Labour has pledged to reintroduce the Agricultural Wages Board in a move which Jeremy Corbyn says will bring back millions of pounds to English rural workers.
The board was abolished in England five years ago by David Cameron's Conservative government due to an increased minimum wage and the introduction of the national living wage.
But Labour, who introduced the board in 1948, have now said they want England to be in line with other parts of the UK, such as Wales and Northern Ireland.
Jeremy Corbyn will announce the policy on today (22 July) at the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival in Dorset, a celebration of trade unionism of rural workers rights.
According to Mr Corbyn, the policy will "bring back millions of pounds to workers across the English countryside".
Mr Corbyn will say: “Almost 200 years after the Tolpuddle Martyrs bravely stood against the exploitation of employers paying poverty wages, Labour is committed to reintroducing the Agricultural Wages Board and increasing pay and fundamental rights for all agricultural workers.
“This decision will bring back millions of pounds to workers across the English countryside, in addition to guaranteed paid holiday, sick pay, and rest breaks.
“Rural workers have been consistently ignored by the Tories. The south-west is the low pay capital of the UK. Here, and across the English countryside, agricultural workers have been abandoned by the shameful decision to scrap the Agricultural Wages Board.
Mr Corbyn added: “The struggle of the Tolpuddle Martyrs sowed the seed for the modern trade union movement and the Labour Party itself. The best way to honour that noble struggle is not just to remember why it took place, but to secure in our time what those workers fought for: the right to fair pay and decent working conditions.”
The new Agricultural Wages Board would ensure that rural workers in England were entitled to minimum rates of pay, holiday, sick pay and breaks.
