The Eight EU Laws Protecting Workers That Cameron Wishes To Abolish
Labour Party MEPs in the European Parliament have been successful in supporting the introduction of a number of Europe wide laws which have benefited the UK workforce particularly well.
It is also safe to say that without the UK being in the EU, such laws would never have been introduced by a UK government alone.
The most recent of them, which Cameron wishes to repeal, relate to the following issues of concern for working people in the UK:
1. helped sign Britain up to the Social Chapter, which gives British workers guaranteed holidays and better maternity and paternity rights
2. implemented EU-wide laws on working time, limiting the length of time workers can be obliged by their employer to work to 48 hours per week. Labour MEPs also secured a guaranteed right to paid holiday, for the first time in Britain
3. brought in the European Works Council laws giving new information and consultation rights to workers
4. improved people’s ability to prove discrimination in the workplace by putting the onus on the employer, not the employee, to prove that they do not discriminate
5. have given both parents the right to time off when they have children or adopt
6. brought in measures to give part-time and temporary agency workers the same rights as full time workers as regards pay, terms and conditions, pensions, leave, working time, vocational training, health and safety, and maternity leave
7. adopted common standards of health & safety at work, including extra protection for workers using dangerous machinery
8. ensured that the opening up of the European market to cross-border services does not undermine workers' rights, by requiring that the labour laws of the host country are respected
But we must also not forget the Health & Safety specific laws brought in by the EU, which we know would never have seen the statute book in the UK as a result of the then Tory government’s distaste for anything which gives workers employment protection of any kind.
However, many believe that it is doubtful if any of these health & safety laws would have been brought in by any UK government irrespective of its political shade, had we not been in the EU.
But again, Cameron has made it a personal crusade to destroy at least 50% of UK Health & Safety law before 2015, and this includes of course anything brought in by the EU.
Commonly known as the ‘Six Pack’ these laws are:
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, Manual Handling Operations Regulations, Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, and Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.
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Source: European Parliament Labour Party
