Don’t go wrong on rights of workers
THERESA May promised that we would keep our work rights when we leave the EU. But I’m getting worried.
Nearly a year after the vote, we are starting to get details on what the PM has in store for us.
The Government published its plans for the “Great Repeal Bill” two weeks ago. It allows ministers to water down or even scrap many of our protections at work – without asking Parliament.
Just look at some of the ministers who might soon be able to cut down on our rights. Priti Patel, the Development Secretary, said in the Brexit campaign that we could “halve” EU protections at work.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, recently signed up to a campaign to scrap limits on the hours a company can force you to work.
And another newspaper has called for a “bonfire of regulations”, which could make the workplace a lot less safe.
Sounds like they didn’t get the memo on protecting workers’ rights.
This is worrying, because many of the things they’re talking about scrapping are important.
Things such as rules banning discrimination against mums-to-be. Things such as better holidays, and equal pay and pensions for parttimers. These aren’t just meaningless words on paper. They have real effects. When these EU laws came in, thousands of zero-hours workers got paid holidays for the first time ever.
It’s clear that some people are trying to hijack Brexit, and use it as an excuse to attack your rights at work.
That’s just not on. I bet most people who voted Brexit didn’t do it to make life at work harder.
And it’s not just about the rights we already have — it’s about future rights too. As I write, the EU is busy with plans to give workers even better rights.
Next on their list is more help for working mums and dads. After that, they have plans to stop bosses using migrants to undercut local workers. And then to make way for more flexible working.
These are exactly the kind of rights we need here in the UK. We may be leaving the EU, but that doesn’t mean that workers here should be treated worse than German, Dutch or Spanish ones.
Taking back control shouldn’t mean falling behind. We won’t make Britain great by treating workers worse than our continental cousins.
That’s why workers’ rights must be at the heart of our future deal with the EU. We need an iron-clad guarantee that we won’t miss out on future ones.
When the PM promised that Brexit wouldn’t damage workers’ rights, I was pleased. This pledge was the result of a long trade union campaign – both in public and in the corridors of Westminster.
But if Mrs May is to keep her word, she needs to change the Great Repeal Bill so that it safeguards our rights. It should leave no room for ministers and judges to dilute or scrap workplace protections.
We cannot afford to become the bargain basement of Europe when it comes to rights at work.
Isn’t it time working people, and what they want, were put at the heart of Brexit?