TUC – Peers must vote to protect workers’ rights and stop ministerial power grab

The TUC is urging peers to protect workers’ rights and stop a “ministerial power grab” by voting for amendments on the Retained EU Law Bill.

The Bill is due in the House of Lords today (Monday) for report stage.

Last week, the government set out the 600 regulations it is set to rip up by the end of the year through the Bill – and separate proposals which would water down workplace protections on paid holiday, safe working hours and outsourced workers.

The TUC says the government “stepped back from the brink” after it finally abandoned its disastrous plan to rip up every single piece of EU retained law by the end of this year.

But the union body says the Bill is “still a threat to working people in every corner of the country”.

The TUC is calling on peers to support the following amendments to:

• Safeguard workers’ rights (amendments 50 and 51)
• Limit ministers’ power to rewrite the law with little scrutiny (amendments 45 and 76)

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:

“Months of campaigning by unions, environmental groups and business has forced the government to step back from the brink and abandon its disastrous plan to rip up every single piece of EU retained law by the end of this year.

But this Bill is still a threat to working people in every corner of the country.

Tinkering with the status of EU law could unravel decades of case law – making it harder for workers to enforce their rights and for women to make equal pay claims.

And ministers are handing themselves huge powers to circumvent normal parliamentary procedures and re-write legislation.

Peers must do the right thing and vote to stop this ministerial power grab and protect workers’ rights.”

On separate proposals to water down key workplace protections, Paul Novak added:

“The Conservative promise to protect and enhance workers’ rights is up in flames. Ministers want to meddle with holiday leave, which could see some workers get less holiday pay when they take time off.

They propose loosening rules on recording hours – delivering a boost to bad bosses looking to exploit workers and put them through long, gruelling shifts without enough rest.

And the government is plotting an outright attack on the rights of outsourced workers, by stripping many of them of a united voice when they are transferred to new employers.”