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11
November 2009
As well as aligning themselves
with extreme right wing politicians in the EU and now back
tracking on their “cast iron” promise of a referendum,
Cameron’s Tories have come out again to appease their
Euro-sceptic wing, saying they will wrestle back powers from
the EU, but only those that will enable them to attack working
people and undermine trade unions.
No working people should
be voting Tory for that reason alone. We know that some of
the best things to come out of the EU have been in relation
to social and economic rights. Through gritted teeth, Thatcher
had to bring about some changes in labour laws and improvements
to anti-discrimination laws and health and safety at work,
in particular. Cameron
wants to avoid that and even take regressive steps.
He wants the UK to determine
its own social and economic legislation, including in relation
to health and safety. Under the Working Time laws, he wants
more power for business to make people work longer hours.
Cameron proposes an absolute
opt out from the Social Chapter and a complete opt out of
the Charter of Fundamental Rights. They contain inconvenient
fundamental rights, like rights not to be sacked for no good
reason and fundamental freedoms to promote trade unions and
collective bargaining.
We have consistently attacked
the decisions
of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in favouring business
rights over human rights in the cases of Viking
and Laval, but one thing that might have made a difference
following the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty was that the
ECJ might be held in check eventually by the European Court
of Human Rights. Cameron would prevent that if he could.
No doubt he’ll consult
about a British Charter of Rights that focuses on our very
own Magna Carter, an ancient declaration of rights that ceded
power from the King as far as the rest of the ruling class.
Cameron wants to take us back to that time and avoid the inconvenient
declarations of rights and freedoms to all, including to trade
unions and their members.
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