Labor is seeking to protect workers’ employment rights from being scrapped as part of ministers’ controversial EU retained law bill, forcing a Commons vote on the subject on Wednesday.
The party fears that fundamental rights, including maternity protection and the right to rest, could be scrapped by the government’s plans to “repeal” 4,000 laws taken from Brussels by the end of this year.
The bill, which returns to the House of Commons on Thursday, repeals all EU laws that are not proactively adopted by the government.
A number of senior Tory MPs objected to Rishi Sunak’s attempt to push the bill through and backed an amendment designed to give MPs greater oversight over the repeal of thousands of EU laws.
They include: leading Brexiter David Davies; former Minister for Justice Robert Buckland; Caroline Noakes, Chair of the House of Commons Women and Equality Committee; and Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the justice committee.
Labor MP Stella Creasy, who led the amendment and is chair of the Labor Movement for Europe, told the Guardian: “The consequences of accidentally deleting laws that affect people’s lives are huge. This bill presents a huge opportunity for fraud, as a minister will hit the delete button on something they would not realize they have deleted.
“It has nothing to do with Brexit, otherwise Brexiteers would not support the amendments we are proposing. Deleting everything and giving Ministers the power to do so is not giving back control, it is simply increasing control in Downing Street, not in our Parliament. Rishi Sunak should stand up for parliamentary sovereignty.
Reaffirming that Labor is on the side of working people, Shadow Employment Secretary Justin Mathers said: “Once again the Conservatives are trying to take away working people’s rights and their protections in the workplace.
“The Government’s plans to allow the Secretary of State to scrap vital employment protections are an affront to the hard-won rights of Britons in the workplace.”
Labour’s move follows claims that human rights are at risk from the government’s rush to scrap up to 4,000 EU laws.
Human rights and equality organizations have written to the government to let it know they have identified a number of provisions in the retained EU law bill that “risk breaching” the “international legal commitment” made in the North’s Brexit protocol. Ireland, to protect the rights set out in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission says that unless the Bill is amended to address these concerns, “there is a risk that the human rights and equality legislation linked to Article 2 of the Protocol will not be preserved, reformulated or re-entered on time’.
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the most popular stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to secure our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
It also said that rushing through the bill and allowing the EU law to expire at the end of 2023 under “expiration provisions” would mean a “lack of consultation” with the bodies set up to ensure that equality and human rights are observed in post-conflict communities.
Article 2 of the Protocol is based on the recognition that equality and human rights are central to the Good Friday Agreement. In addition, it guarantees that the UK government will “keep up” with EU equality laws to ensure that the agreement is respected in all its parts.
He cited them along with six other directives that underpin the peace agreement, including the Victims Directive, the Parental Leave Directive and the Pregnant Workers Directive.
Sunak’s official spokesman said ministers were “clearly aware of what needs to be done”, adding that “the public wants to see that action is taken quickly”.
Asked about the timetable for updates to the initiative, he said: “I think some of this work can be done and rolled out pretty quickly. Some will take longer to develop, but departments will provide updates.”
Add Comment