Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell today declared that a Labour Government will oversee the biggest overhaul of work place rights for 80 years, should Jeremy Corbyn win the next general election.

In a speech during the 150th Trades Union Congress, McDonnell said that Labour would extend workers' rights and "restore the balance of power in the workplace". He also promised more rights for those who work in the gig economy.

McDonnel announced plans that would have companies employing more than 250 people set up an ownership fund that would give workers a financial stake in the business. Further proposals include allowing collective bargaining across different sectors of the economy.

These changes would be introduced in law within the first year of a Labour administration.

"Labour's programme of workplace reform will restore the balance between employer and worker with a significant extension of trade union rights, modernising corporate governance structures and extending the opportunity for employees to share collectively in the benefits of ownership of their company," McDonnell said. “Labour's common sense approach will forge a new workplace environment best suited to meeting the challenges of Britain's ongoing low productivity and the emerging fourth industrial revolution."

McDonnell also addressed zero-hours contracts as well as the gig economy.

“The massive growth in zero-hours contracts and the gig economy have produced a workplace environment of insecurity not seen since the 1930s. The decline of collective bargaining has meant that workers also now have little say over the key decisions taken by their employers over the future of their companies,” McDonnell said.

A Labour government could also see workers in insecure employment being given similar rights to those in permanent work, including eligibility for sick pay, maternity pay and similar benefits.

Seb Maley, CEO of Qdos Contractor, commented on McDonnell’s speech, “The Labour Party must be careful not to assume all self-employed workers want employment rights. Contractors for example, by and large are happy working without these when operating outside IR35. Should Labour hold any hope of appealing to the growing contractor electorate, it must recognise the mistakes it made when introducing the IR35 legislation originally, along with those made by The Conservatives recently.”

McDonnell also took a shot at the Conservative government and claims that the role of Conservative governments throughout history “has been to restrict and restrain the rights and influence of workers to maximise the profits of the companies that so generously fund their party.”

“The Conservatives try to dress it up as securing some form of balance of power between workers and employers, but few today can argue that the balance hasn’t been overwhelmingly tipped against workers,” McDonnell said.

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, responded to Labour’s plans.

“This is Labour’s record on workers: the last Labour government left over half a million more people out of work and every Labour government leaving office with unemployment higher than when it started,” Hammond said. “Under the Conservatives, there are over 3 million more people in work with the security of a regular pay packet, unemployment is at an all time low and the lowest paid have seen the fastest rise in pay for 20 years thanks to our introduction of the national living wage.”

Separately, during the 150th Trades Union Congress, Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the TUC, said that a four-day working week for all is a realistic goal this century.

O’Grady also addressed the topic of Brexit during the Congress and said that the TUC would back a second EU referendum.