{"id":12373,"date":"2017-05-16T17:15:22","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T16:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=12373"},"modified":"2017-05-16T17:15:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T16:15:22","slug":"not-worth-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=12373","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Not worth the paper\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Theresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s claim that a Tory government will use Brexit to improve workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights has been met with derision and disbelief by opposition and trade union leaders.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s election campaign promise<\/a> to use the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exit from the EU to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bstrengthen and enhance workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 was branded an \u00e2\u20ac\u015bobvious gimmick\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 by Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shadow Brexit<\/a> minister Keir Starmer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking from the campaign trail in Swansea, Starmer pointed to the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 record of attacking employment rights and questioned May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge to retain all EU derived employment law through the Great Repeal Bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHere she is, seven years in power, suddenly talking about workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHers is the government that introduced fees for employment tribunals so even the rights that are already there can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be enforced unless you have got the money to go to a tribunal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is the government that hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t managed to raise wages or have wages raised for seven years.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that many of her MPs are going to be able to resist the temptation to water down and get rid of workplace rights, because after all, that is why they were advocating leaving the EU in the first place. So the idea that they are going to better protect rights doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really sit very well.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TUC<\/a> general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady also warned that May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plan to simply transfer current EU rights into UK law was not comprehensive enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Race to the bottom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For a successful Brexit deal that protects both UK and EU workers from a \u00e2\u20ac\u015brace to the bottom\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, Britain needs to ensure that domestic employment rights keep pace with changes and developments in Europe, O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She told the Guardian<\/em><\/a>, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is not about sovereignty; this is about saying there will be a level playing field and nobody will fall below this basic standard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow of course, Theresa May has already said that she won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just protect rights, she will enhance them \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so it should cause no problem whatsoever for the Conservative party to sign up to a commitment that British workers will not fall behind rights in other countries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe know the EU is developing a new social pillar; there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be new rights to paid parental leave \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to crack on; can Mrs May match it?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite claiming that her policies are \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe greatest extension of rights and protections for employees by a Conservative government in history\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, it seems unlikely that May will keep British working rights on a par with those in Europe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Writing in the Financial Times<\/em><\/a> to launch the manifesto pledges, May showed no sign of pushing against Tory Brexiteers who see EU regulation, including workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights, as a hindrance to free trade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Prime Minister said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe remain committed to preventing pointless red tape and keeping corporation tax low.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tories \u00e2\u20ac\u0098not to be trusted\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said the Conservatives could not be trusted over workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is good news that the Prime Minister accepts the importance of the rights we have derived from the EU, but there is no way that working people can rely on the rest of her party feeling the same way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAlready there are those on her benches itching to scrap basic protections, like the working time directive, which keep workers and the public safe but are decried as needless red tape by many hard right Tories.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s promises\u00c2\u00a0to workers need to be regarded in the same light as her promise not to call another election \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that is, not worth the paper they are written on.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s claim that a Tory government will use Brexit to improve workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights has been met with derision and disbelief by opposition and trade union leaders.   May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s election campaign promise to use the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exit from the EU to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bstrengthen and enhance workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 was branded an \u00e2\u20ac\u015bobvious gimmick\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 by Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shadow Brexit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[486,468,727,713],"wps_subtitle":"May workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights claims slammed","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12375,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12373\/revisions\/12375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}