The Government and leading trade unions have agreed a pre-election employment deal which they claim could have beneficial consequences for thousands of people in Bradford. JIM GREENHALF reports.

Employment Minister Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South) can now go shopping with his wife Marie and on holiday with his family.

This past month Government business has meant that the former Bradford Council leader and trade union official has had only a few days at home.

From his point of view the Minister of Employment, Consumer Affairs and Competition, can look back on last weekend's extended stay at the University of Warwick as a personal triumph, good news for the Prime Minister and, in the long run, of benefit to thousands of people in Bradford and beyond.

He wasn't alone. Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for the Department of Trade and Industry and Ian McCartney, chairman of the national Labour Party, were behind closed doors with four key trades union general secretaries: Kevin Curran, of the General and Municipal Boilermakers' Union, Tony Woodley, of the Transport and General Workers' Union, Derek Simpson of Amicus, and Dave Prentice of Unison.

The union leaders had come to the meeting in advance of the autumn's conference season to examine key policy documents and agree the basis of Labour's manifesto for the next general election - likely to be in June next year.

With union membership down to about 7 million, roughly 21 per cent penetration of all work places - the Big Four, as they were known, had their own radical agenda on issues such as strikes and secondary picketing. Reportedly, they met with firm opposition. The Times credited Gerry Sutcliffe, who conducted most of the negotiations, as being "immovable on the big stuff".

The T&A sought out the former Bradford print union leader and aide to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, to ask him if his politics had indeed turned as Tory blue as the smart shirt he was wearing.

"I was at Wapping, I was there during the miners' strike. Where did any of it get us? Seventeen years of Tory rule. I'm not going down that road again," he said, explaining his uncompromising position to the Big Four at Warwick.

Mr Sutcliffe and his two Government colleagues made clear their determination to protect the working relationship between the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation for British Industry - traditionally old enemies. In place of a red agenda, the union leaders, perhaps to their surprise, seem to have been happy to agree an extensive 16-point programme in exchange for giving the Government union support in the run-up to next June.

In the short term this means that Prime Minister Tony Blair can expect at least two relatively good conferences - the TUC and the Labour Party. In the long run it means that the Labour Party won't have bolshie unions disaffiliating - like Bob Crow's rail and maritime workers - and taking away millions of pounds in campaign funds.

If the weekend's agreement remains on track and Labour wins an historic third consecutive term of government next year, the following will be just some of the measures aimed at extending employment as well as improving conditions for millions in the lower end of the jobs market.

l Making full employment a priority via a Fair Cities programme, which means identifying people out of work, the reasons they are, and suggesting possible remedies. As far as Bradford goes, where about 20,000 people are jobless, Mr Sutcliffe said he wanted to work with Bradford Council to bring full employment to the city.

l Having a national policy for occupational health and safety at work. This would cover long hours, stress, bad working conditions, lack of flexibility especially for parents and carers.

l Extending holiday entitlement to four weeks by making it additional to bank holidays. Some employees have bank holidays included in their annual holidays.

l Setting up a social partnership commission to take a look at the gap between the pay of men and women and to report back to the Government with recommendations.

l Work towards establishing an agreement on a strategy to create a better work-life balance. In short, encouraging the attitude that people work to live not live to work.

Tony Woodley, the T&GWU leader, who took over from Bill Morris, praised the proposed manifesto because it was taking seriously the concerns of trades unions.

John Cridland, deputy director general of the CBI, was equally welcoming but for a slightly different reason. He saw the deal as an end to trades union conflict as in the strike-ridden 1970s.

Above all, the Prime Minister was reportedly very pleased with the outcome of the negotiations which ended at 4am on Sunday morning.

"To be the employment minister who negotiated this is something I am very proud of," Gerry Sutcliffe reflected.

"This agreement means in political terms that we have a united Labour movement pushing towards the next general election. We are not scaring business off. We are going to be able, within a European context, to be in a more positive position.

"Our view is that if you get more people into work it is better their life opportunities: they become more creative, healthier, which helps us.

"People are also living longer, the birthrate is falling. Migrant workers from the EU and other places will help sustain pension requirements. We are not going to force people to work until they are 70, but some will want to. Therefore we will have to change the rules governing unfair dismissal, to extend employment rights to people of 65 and over," he said.

Tory councillor Simon Cooke, responsible for regeneration, employment and jobs on Bradford Council's Executive Committee, responded by saying it was a question of how much of the package is spin.

"The unions' response has been pretty positive, which is not surprising; but my concern is does this document make it easier or more difficult for British business to succeed?

"Fiddling around with holidays is good but doesn't mean much in itself. If this document gets as far as legislation we need to make sure that our businesses don't have significant extra costs."

President of Bradford's Chamber of Commerce, Roland Clark, told the T&A: "Overall I am wary about losing flexibility and the costs to small companies. Fairness is fine, but I see this as chipping away at flexibility to react to changing market conditions.

"I think we should resist European directives and justify whether it is right for us."

For the Liberal Democrats, their deputy leader on Bradford Council, David Ward, commented: "I won't say it's a Faustian deal, but they are supping with the devil.

"It's in the interests of the Labour Party to go into the general election without another body against them; but I am surprised if the unions think this deal will hold after a general election."