Europe has enough critics in the Leave campaign without qualified,half-hearted advocacy from CorbynThe next three months will be crucial for the future of work in general, and for British trade unionism in particular. There are two threats. The first is the trade union bill – surely one of the most pernicious pieces of proposed legislation in recent history. The second, and the possibility of leaving the European Union – so suspending the array of protections it offers in the workplace – would erode what remains of British worker rights and entitlements.Britain already possesses the least regulated labour market in the developed world. The evaporation of these final protections will reduce employees to pawns – notations on spreadsheets to be disposed of at will in just-in-time workplaces. The division in Britain between an aristocracy of privileged workers enjoying international standards and a mass precariat of the rest will grow more acute. Brexiteers cheer at the prospect; the “burden” of Brussels regulations that they rail against tumble into two main clusters. Firstly there are those fundamental to creating common standards and protocols in a single market of 28 countries and 500 million people. To complain approximately these is as futile as complaining approximately the weather. In or out they are vital to sustaining a level playing field as a precondition for trade. The only question is whether we want to share in their formulation.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com