Last minute Brexit workers’ rights offer is simply not good enough

A last gasp offer from the government on employment protection after Brexit will achieve nothing Prospect warns

With just a few days until the crucial vote in parliament on the government’s Brexit deal, ministers have signalled a concession on workers’ rights.

They plan to accept an amendment from Labour MP John Mann which would allow parliament to vote in the future about increasing workers’ rights in line with EU law.

However this move has been dismissed by unions who argue that this offers no new protections to workers, will not make sure their rights are not reduced after Brexit, and grants no real new powers to parliament.

Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy said:

“This last minute offer from the government is a desperate attempt to save the prime ministers’ deal but doesn’t protect workers’ rights in the future.

“Parliament is always able to offer workers better protections, this amendment changes nothing and should convince nobody. The history of employment law demonstrates that these protections are more likely to be undermined at the domestic than the European level, just look at the history of unfair dismissal law, restrictions on Unions and tribunal fees.

“Trade unions have consistently warned about the impact of this Brexit deal on employment rights and been totally ignored by government, the only way to get a good deal for workers is to put the deal back to the people with a proper debate about the value of the deal as opposed to existing EU membership.”