Two motions from London Region were assembled into a Composite, opposing the Government’s EU Law Revocation and Reform Bill. I have clipped the video, the words of the motion and Bismilla’s speech identify the rights at risk, and I talk about the move to a government by decree with the repeal of laws being at the whim of ministers, who also gain the right to amend the laws if they so chose. The Union passed the Composite.
C10 TORIES BONFIRE OF EU WORKER RIGHTS AND SAFETY – REPEAL THE REVOCATION AND REFORM BILL
This Congress is appalled by the actions of the Tory government in seeking to destroy all of the legislation adopted transferred into UK law following our departure from the European Union.
This Congress notes that the Tory plans to scrap most EU laws by the end of 2023, to show that Brexit is being delivered, risk causing untold legal chaos and yet more damage to British businesses.
The Revocation and Reform Bill will allow potentially the enabling of deregulation of workers’ rights without effective scrutiny, laws and protections workers currently have rights to.
The new Act may also damage our terms of Trade and Co-operation Agreement with the EU.
With the country still reeling from the effects of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous minibudget last year followed by Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement where he picked the pockets of the working masses to pay for tory mistakes.
Ministers are facing mounting opposition from business groups, environmentalists, legal experts, unions and opposition parties to what is being described as another dangerous, ideologically driven experiment by pro-Brexit Tory right wingers.
The retained EU law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, spearheaded by Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most significant bills ever to come before MPs, with powers to expunge laws ranging from workers rights to regulatory protection for the environment without even a debate in Parliament.
This bonfire of the EU Regulations and EU Directives, could open the way for employers to attack our terms and conditions, removing the automatic rights to things like a maximum number of working hours, a minimum of four weeks holidays, parental leave, equality etc.
The bonfire could mean that the employer could employ someone without anything in writing, bully them and treat them differently to colleagues.
The loss of the minimum workplace safety directive 1989 could make going to work a far more dangerous thing to do and if we lose the Retirement Provision Directive workers could end up with no automatic right to a company pension.
Also, the loss of the Insolvency Protection Directive 2008 will mean that the Government could pay lip service in its protection of these pension funds, if the company goes into liquidation.
What is more the bonfire could remove the rights to bargain collectively and take strike action without fear of discrimination or the loss of your job. One only has to look at the latest piece of anti-strike, anti-trade union rights, drafted by this government to see that under a Tory Government they seek to destroy trade unions, and force workers to work themselves into an early grave.
Under the Bill, British workers will lose the following rights:
• Pay related rights from the first day of employment.
• Working time rights from the first day of employment.
• Family related rights from the first day of employment.
• Family related rights from 26 weeks of continuous employment.
• Equal treatment rights for “atypical workers“ from the first day of employment.
• Rights for agency workers after 12 weeks in the same job for the same hirer.
• Equality rights from the first day of employment.
• Job protection rights.
• Trade union rights from day one of employment.
Congress calls on the Central Executive Council to:
• Investigate every legal angle to oppose this Governments actions
• Highlight the actions of the UK Government at every opportunity to obtain condemnation of this government’s actions.
• call on central Government to bring forward a detailed set of proposals where laws need to be improved.
• call on our Labour MPs to insist at the very least, full scrutinising of all workers’ rights law changes.
• believe that the Government should allow MPs sufficient time and power to scrutinise these proposals.
• call on the GMB, it’s Labour MPs and all unions to publicise, demonstrate and highlight the pitfalls and damage this law will do if UK Law changes are left unchecked.
GMB calls on the government to stop this Bill as it will only further destroy our country. These are just some of the rights that this bill will abolish. Let’s abolish the Bill.
The CEC issued a qualification,
SUPPORT WITH QUALIFICATION: The EU Retained Law Bill would have disastrous implications for workers’ rights in this country. Under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018, EU derived law was retained, although there were powers to review and remove legislation in the future. The Bill as it stands that is currently going through Parliament turns this on its head and instead automatically ends at least 2,4000 existing laws at the end of 2023, unless Ministers intervene to save individual laws or extend them to 2026 with little or no proper scrutiny by Parliament or any public consultation. These laws cover workers’ rights, health and safety regulation, consumer protections and more. Most have been embedded in the UK legal system for many decades and the Bill has provisions to remove the binding nature of earlier case law which has clarified and extended rights. The sheer practicability of Ministers having ability to fully review and reach a considered decision on so many complex items of legislation before the 2023 deadline is questionable. GMB is opposed to the Bill and working amongst a large coalition, including the TUC, but also the employer side and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in doing so. The Government’s own Regulatory Policy Committee has said that the Impact Assessment on the effect of the Bill is ‘not fit for purpose’. We are of course engaging with the Labour Party on opposing the Bill through Parliament.
And here are the notes from my Speech
President, Congress. Dave Levy, London Region seconding Composite 10
The Conservatives EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, knwn as R.E.U.L. was introduced by Jacob Rees Mogg during the doomed Truss administration.
It seeks to sunset, which means repeal on a date, or repeal unless saved by ministers over 4000 laws, that allegedly stem from the EU. It was originally 2,500, but someone looked in a cupboard and found another 1,500. Somehow it’s about taking back control but it shows that taking back control was never about us, but was about the implementing of a fake nirvana for the vulture capitalists, of a Singapore-on-Thames, with zero employment protection laws, weak unions, a strong and violent police force, an oppressive criminal code and a submissive working class.
The law repeals these laws, unless saved or varied by Government ministers, the variation powers are known as Henry VIII th powers, because that’s when the were invented and that where they should have stayed. It’s government by decree and so extreme that businesses are lobbying against it because of the lack of certainty it causes, and fears of retaliation by the EU under the terms of the FTCA.
It came from the fevered imagination of one the most inappropriate people to ever become an MP , Jacob Rees Mogg and this award is a difficult one to win given the lack of talent amd propriety in today’s Parliamentary Tory Party.
The rights in jeopardy, include the remaining first day rights at work, inc. the right to join a union, and the working time directive rights.
Reading the list reminds me of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, which guarantees “Every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health, safety and dignity” with an independent court which will enforce it across the whole of Europe. “
This is the last throw of the dice from players on a losing streak, we must stop this or if we fail ensure that the next Labour Government remediates it.
Please support this motion.