Andy Burnham to promise cheaper rail travel for part-time workers

Andy Burnham will promise cheaper rail season tickets for parents who only travel part of the week, as he launches his manifesto on Wednesday.

The Labour leadership candidate will say that under his plans parents who work part-time will be able to save thousands each year.

Burnham will explain that these commuters would only pay for days they travel and “no longer pay seven-day fees for a three-day job”. His team have said this is one announcement in a number that aim to prove Burnham understands the pressure on part-time workers.

The Shadow Health Secretary is planning on reviewing the cost and standard of childcare that stops many parents from taking part-time jobs and promise to work with businesses to raise the number of quality part-time roles and job shares. This would include extending the right to request flexible working to the first day of employment, which is currently only available to people who have been in work for more than six months.

Burnham will argue:

“We need to tackle the inequalities that stifle growth and productivity by preventing women from reaching their full potential in the workplace. Both mothers and fathers have to juggle caring responsibilities and work, but it is women that bear much of the cost of this daily struggle. As Labour Leader, I will argue for better support for Britain’s part-time workers”.