{"id":8886,"date":"2016-06-02T15:38:28","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T14:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8886"},"modified":"2016-06-03T11:58:33","modified_gmt":"2016-06-03T10:58:33","slug":"to-remain-and-then-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8886","title":{"rendered":"To remain and then reform"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Working people are better protected if the UK stays in the European Union, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn<\/a> asserted today (June 2).<\/p>\n

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Arguing that \u00e2\u20ac\u015btoo much of the debate so far has been dominated by myth-making and prophecies of doom\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, Corbyn reminded voters of the advantages that membership in the EU has brought to workers in the UK in what he called Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpositive case for remaining in Europe and for reforming Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Through the EU social chapter and other directives, millions of workers in the UK have benefitted from 28 days of paid leave and a limit to how many hours they can be forced to work; many part-time workers have been granted the same rights as full-time colleagues; and hundreds of thousands of expecting mothers each year enjoy statutory maternity leave.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to understand the benefit of these gains,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Corbyn said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt means workers throughout Europe have decent rights at work. Meaning it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s harder to undercut terms and conditions across Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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He warned that Brexit campaigners have clearly stated their desire to leave the EU is motivated by a desire to water down these very same hard-won rights.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bA vote to Leave means a Conservative government would then be in charge of negotiating Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exit,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Corbyn argued.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Disaster for majority\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEverything they have done as a government so far means we could not rely on them to protect the workplace rights that millions rely on. A Tory Brexit negotiation would be a disaster for the majority of people in Britain.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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But the EU is far from perfect, he noted, as he emphasised that reforming the European Union would be at the top of the agenda for a future Labour government \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it would see to it that any current rights and protections are strengthened and extended in \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba vision of a Europe of co-operation and solidarity.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Many Leave supporters have argued that TTIP \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the EU-US trade agreement that threatens consumer and worker protection while granting global corporations unprecedented powers to privatise public services \u00e2\u20ac\u201c was reason enough to back Brexit.<\/p>\n

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Corbyn highlighted that he shared the concerns of those frightened by the consequences of what may be the biggest trade deal ever negotiated.<\/p>\n

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But the successful passage of TTIP is far from being a foregone conclusion \u00e2\u20ac\u201c while the Tory government is bent on pushing the trade deal through, France has just said it would veto the deal, which requires the agreement of all 28 EU member states.<\/p>\n

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And Corbyn said a Labour government, too, would unilaterally veto TTIP, as he threw down the gauntlet to prime minister David Cameron to follow France\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lead.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not good enough for France; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not good enough for Britain either,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

Global Justice Now, an organisation at the forefront of fighting TTIP, later responded to Corbyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments, arguing that it was precisely through cross-European resistance that TTIP may be on the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true that TTIP has provoked many people to veer towards voting for Brexit, but progressive MEPs and civil society from across Europe have been instrumental in getting to the point now where the defeat of the deal is a real possibility,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLeft to their own devices, the free-market fundamentalists of the UK would waste no time in cooking up something even more odious than the EU-USA deal.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Turning to concerns over immigration, Corbyn acknowledged that some industries were being affected by the undercutting of wages.<\/p>\n

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But, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bit is not migrants that undercut wages, but unscrupulous employers\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMigrant workers are often the victims of the worst exploitation, and it is our duty to close loopholes and strengthen enforcement of employment protection here in Britain and across Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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This migrant exploitation that undercuts local wages, Corbyn argued, is being fuelled by a Tory government that refuses to back reforms that would close these loopholes.<\/p>\n

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Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner hailed Corbyn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s speech.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Progressively reform\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAmid a toxic EU referendum debate between the Tory Remain and Leave camps that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s often spiralled into absurdity and caricature, Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear, no-nonsense vision for our place in the EU \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to remain and progressively reform the EU \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is what is needed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is a clear threat to working people from this Conservative government \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they have just successfully passed the Trade Union Act because they want to impede our ability to take on unscrupulous bosses \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and they are determined to continue with an austerity economic policy, destroying our public services and benefit system and creating low paid, insecure jobs,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFighting for our rights in isolation from other trade unions and movements across Europe will mean fighting with one hand tied behind our backs,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner argued.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bVoting to Remain would give unions both in the UK and across Europe the power to further build on these rights such as paid holidays, maternity leave and rest breaks and work together to close loopholes that exploitative employers ruthlessly abuse.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHistory has shown time and again that gains for working people are best fought for and won cooperatively \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the more allies we have on our side the better.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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