U.K. opposition Labour plans to give workers a third of seats on company boards

Britain's main opposition LabourParty would require large companies to reserve at least onethird of the seats on their boards for workers, party leaderJeremy Corbyn said on Sunday.

Labour said in a statement that the current corporategovernance structure which gives priority to shareholderinterests over others was feeding a short-term corporate cultureand holding back economic growth.

"In workplaces across the country, working hours have gotlonger, productivity has nosedived, pay has fallen andinsecurity has risen," Corbyn said in a statement on the firstday of Labour's annual conference.

"Businesses have been allowed to get away with suchexploitative practices because the balance of power has shiftedagainst workers. That has allowed a reckless corporate cultureto fester which is damaging Britain's economy."

Under the party's plans if it won power, both public andprivate companies with more than 250 staff would be legallybound to have worker directors elected by the entire workforce.

When she came to power after the 2016 Brexit vote,Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to tackle whatshe called the "unacceptable face" of capitalism, including byputting workers on boards, but her initial proposals werewatered down.

"Labour will turn the tide and give workers more control anda real say at work. By ensuring businesses reserve a third ofboard seats for workers, we'll help transform our brokeneconomic model," said Corbyn, who has shifted Labour towards thehard left since being elected party chief in 2015.

On Saturday, Corbyn said his party would challenge May onany Brexit deal she can strike with Brussels, and called for anational election if the deal fell short.

Labour would move to nationalize key industries as apriority if it took office, its finance spokesman JohnMcDonnell, an orthodox socialist, said ahead of the conference.