Prime minister Theresa May vowed to make it harder for foreign companies to take over British firms and threatened to clamp down on soaring executive pay as she set out plans for the government to take a greater say in the running of UK Plc.
Outlining her Conservative party's proposals on Thursday ahead of a June 8 election, May also said she would ensure any foreign group buying British infrastructure in the telecoms, defence and energy sectors did not undermine security or essential services.
Marking a departure from the free market ethos pursued by the Conservatives for decades, May said governments had a role to play in overseeing how companies were run.
"We believe people should be rewarded for their talents and efforts but the public is rightly affronted by the remuneration of some corporate leaders," the Conservative Party said in its election policy document.
Under the plan, executive pay packages would be subject to strict annual shareholder votes and listed companies would have to publish the ratio of executive pay to broader workforce pay.
The Conservatives said companies seeking to buy British businesses would also have to be clear about their intentions from the outset of the bid process and all promises made in the course of a takeover should be legally binding.
The government would also gain the power to pause the process to allow greater scrutiny.
Britain, the world's fifth largest economy, has attracted more foreign investment in Europe than any other country, with international companies playing a major role in every sector including banks, transport, energy, telecoms and retail.
May, who became prime minister shortly after Britain voted to leave the EU in June last year, had already indicated that she wanted to clamp down on excessive pay and foreign takeovers that led to job losses and threatened the rights of workers.
She also set out on Thursday plans to give workers a voice on company boards, either through a nominated director from the workforce, the creation of an employee advisory council or a designated non-executive director.
English questioning rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent, and racist jokes from 36 per cent to 41 per cent
Workplace violence against Black and ethnic minority employees rises to 26 per cent
Highlights
The Trades Union Congress surveyed 1,044 Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees. The results show clear increases in racist behaviour between 2020 and 2026.
Workers having their English questioned rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. Those hearing racist jokes went up from 36 per cent to 41 per cent.
Racist comments made to workers or around them increased from 31 per cent to 36 per cent.
Violence and threats
The most worrying finding involves physical threats and violence, which jumped from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.
Racist posts shared on workplace social media grew from 22 per cent to 28 per cent. Racist materials being passed around increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.
Beyond direct racism, many workers face unfair treatment. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they get harder or less popular jobs.
Over two in five (43 per cent) receive unfair criticism. The same number (41 per cent) stay stuck on temporary contracts.
Work conditions got worse too. Those not getting enough hours rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Workers denied overtime went from 30 per cent to 37 per cent. Being kept on short-term contracts increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent.
Direct managers cause most unfair treatment (35 per cent), followed by other managers (19 per cent).
Bullying mainly comes from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). Racist behaviour mostly comes from colleagues (33 per cent) and customers or clients (22 per cent).
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: "Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain. This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse."
The TUC is calling for urgent government action to tackle the problem. The union wants ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce workplace protections.
It is pushing for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies with over 50 employees.
The TUC says the Employment Rights Act, which makes employers responsible for protecting workers from harassment by customers and clients, will be an important step forward.
The union also wants employers to treat racial harassment as a health and safety issue and monitor ethnicity data across recruitment, pay and promotions.