The European Parliament President must warn Cameron off attack on workers’ rights, says TUC

17 June 2015

TUC General Secretary, Frances O’Grady, will raise concerns about the prospect of an EU stripped of workers’ rights in her meeting today (Wednesday) with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz MEP.

Frances O’Grady’s meeting in Brussels comes one day ahead of a meeting between President Schulz and David Cameron in London. The TUC General Secretary will call on President Schulz to stand firm on workers’ rights in his meeting with the UK Prime Minister.

The key points that the TUC General Secretary will raise with President Schulz are:

• Cameron fails to offer anything to workers in his calls for employment rights to be repatriated, a moratorium on new or better rights, and creating a two-tier workforce by slashing in-work benefits for migrant workers.
• Reforming Europe should not be about reducing workers’ rights such as paid holiday rights and fairness for temporary and agency workers, or deeper austerity. Europe needs reforms that will deliver sustainable growth based on investing in good jobs that pay higher wages; and measures to prevent employers from abusing free movement, through exploitation and undercutting.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“We reject the false choice between leaving the EU or staying in an EU stripped of protections for workers, consumers and the environment. EU law is in many cases the last frontier for British workers – take that away and they will be left with no protections.

“I’m asking the President of the European Parliament to stand up to David Cameron, for British workers and for workers everywhere in Europe.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady will meet with the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz at 12pm (CET) on Wednesday 17 June at the European Parliament in Brussels

- Polling published last month by the TUC revealed that British people are far more likely to want to remain part of the EU if it leads to better pay and rights at work. The poll of 4,000 UK voters – commissioned from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner – showed that 55 per cent of the public would be more supportive of Britain's membership of Europe if it did more to help working people get decent pay and conditions at work. By contrast, fewer than one in four (23 per cent) said they would be more supportive of the UK’s EU membership if it did more to cut red tape on businesses.

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Contacts:

Media enquiries:
Clare Santry  T: 020 7467 1372  M: 07717 531150  E: csantry@tuc.org.uk

Alex Rossiter  T: 020 7467 1285  M: 07887 572130  E: arossiter@tuc.org.uk
Tim Nichols  T: 020 7467 1337  M: 07876 452902  E: tnichols@tuc.org.uk