Major unions Unite and Unison have welcomed the bill, with the GMB union saying it will “make a big difference to the lives of working people”.
But the Independent Workers’ union of Great Britain (IWGB), says their members have been overlooked.
It represents some gig economy workers, such as Uber and Deliveroo drivers, who aren’t explicitly mentioned in the new bill.
Because they are seen as self-employed, they aren’t entitled to benefits such as holiday and sick pay.
General secretary Henry Chango Lopez says this makes them “some of the most precarious and exploited in society, lacking the most basic rights and remaining unsupported by legislation”.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) estimates more than 4m people in England and Wales work in the gig economy.
Tim Sharp, the TUC’s senior employment rights officer, tells BBC Newsbeat because it’s a “disparate workforce” working across so many areas, they can be “hard to reach”.
But there are some workers in the sector, including Uber drivers, who have been able to gain some of those rights after taking their cases to court.
Henry, from the IWGB, says this puts the responsibility on people working in the gig economy to get better conditions rather than the government.
But the TUC says some of the measures set to be introduced by the new government, such as the right to organise, could help “all precarious workers”.
“There’s a clear intention to help them develop a collective voice,” says Tim, adding: “There are still huge barriers to trade unions organising.
“What we hope and expect is that some barriers will be lowered.”
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