Commenting on the publication today (Thursday) of the European
Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which brings EU laws — including
workers’ rights — into UK law , TUC General
Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“This is a Downing Street power grab.
“The PM promised to protect all workers’ rights after Brexit. But
there is nothing in this Bill to stop politicians shredding or
watering down our rights in the future.
“Nobody voted for Brexit to make life harder for working people.
That’s why any deal with the EU must ensure that workers’ rights
in Britain don’t fall behind the rest of Europe.”
On proposals for the UK to be no longer subject to European Court
of Justice rulings from the day the UK leaves the
EU, O’Grady said:
“An early commitment to walk away from the ECJ will tie our hands
in Brexit negotiations.
“The government should leave all options on the table, instead of
creating yet more inflexible red lines.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- “We will ensure that workers’ rights are fully protected and
maintained. Indeed, under my leadership, the Government will not
only protect the rights of workers but build on them.” , 29 March 2017 (bit.ly/2tLoW4A)
- On workers’ rights, the TUC is concerned that:
- There are no guarantees that employment protections derived
from the EU will be protected in the long term.
- The repeal bill will give the government powers to repeal and
amend existing rules – powers which will apply to employment and
equality laws. There is a risk the government could seek to
scrap or water down key workers’ rights. The Bill should
include non-regression clauses guaranteeing that the new powers
cannot be used to repeal or dilute employment and equality laws.
- The government has not committed to ensuring that UK
employment laws will keep pace with new EU employment
standards.
- Once we leave the EU, the UK Supreme Court could have the
power to overturn key decisions from the European Court of
Justice which protect workers’ rights – without the need to
secure Parliamentary approval.
- In recent decades, the European Union has proved an important
source of rights for working people in the UK, including:
- Key health and safety standards
- Rights to paid holidays and protection from excessive working
hours
- Family friendly rights, including rights to paid maternity
leave, protection from dismissal for pregnant women and rights to
parental leave
- Equality rights, including rights to equal pay for work of
equal value, and protection from discrimination on grounds of
gender, race, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, age, and
religion and belief
- Protections for young workers, part-time workers, agency
workers and those on fixed-term contracts
- Protections for outsourced workers
- The right to be consulted on collective redundancies, and for
unions to present an alternative
- Measures supporting information and consultation at a
national and European level
- Rights to paid facility time for safety reps and workplace
reps
- Protections for migrant and posted workers
