The first report of the Brexit Select Committee, published this morning, is right to call on the government to set out its plans for Brexit, including membership of the single market and the Customs Union, among other things. The TUC believes that thes…Read more…
When a big lie fails, hard Brexiteers tell a bigger one
It’s hard to work out what’s most ludicrous about this morning’s ‘news’ that Michael Gove and others claim that leaving the EU Customs Union would benefit Britain by £450 million a week and create 400,000 new jobs. My favourite is the claim that once we leave the EU we…Read more…
What Migration Watch aren’t telling you about what leaving the single market would mean
Migration Watch, the anti-immigration organisation, published a report yesterday calling for the UK to leave the single market to reduce net EU immigration. Like so much of what is said about migration, the incomplete nature of the argument is deliberately misleading. In particular, Migration Watch…Read more…
The #Brexit mask begins to slip: they’re still after our rights
We welcomed the Prime Minister’s pledge at Conservative Party Conference (repeated by Ministers) that workers would keep their current rights – and gain new rights – after Brexit. It’s not enough, but it’s a start (we want it guaranteed, not just pledged, and we want…Read more…
Businesses and unions across the country call for right to remain for EU citizens
Today chambers of commerce representing businesses and TUC offices across the country put out joint statements calling for the government to stop stalling and give EU citizens the right to remain in the UK after Brexit. These joint statements back the …Read more…
All to play for on #Brexit
It’s not clear that the British public really cares that much yet about whether Britain should be seeking a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit, because the options haven’t been clearly set out, and the Government hasn’t yet set out what it favours. The TUC wants a…Read more…
#InternationalMigrantsDay 2016: Solidarity with undocumented workers
The TUC has joined other unions around Europe to mark International Migrants Day (18 December) by calling for undocumented migrants to have their rights respected. All too often undocumented workers suffer the humiliating and degrading experience of be…Read more…
Qatar labour ‘reforms’: actions speak louder than laws
Qatar’s new labour laws will not end abuse, warns Amnesty, and FIFA must act to force real change. Hot on the heels of the deal between Qatar’s World Cup Supreme Committee and the international construction unions to allow the latter to keep an eye on workers building World Cup stadiums, comes…Read more…
Something we can (almost) all agree on: the #right2remain
Yesterday the immigration think-tank British Future launched a report setting out hot to put into effect the right for EU citizens living and working in the UK to remain in the UK after Brexit. The report was drawn up by a panel chaired by Labour MP an…Read more…
First European Parliament NO vote to CETA from the employment committee
Yesterday the Employment and Social Affairs committee of the European Parliament voted to reject the notorious EU-Canada (CETA) trade deal because of the negative impact it would have on workers. While this vote was not binding – the vote on whether to accept the deal will ultimately be made in the…Read more…
Justice for Colombia
Theresa May should use her freshly renewed ties with Colombia’s president to aid the fragile peace process and help secure the release of political prisoners in the South American nation, said a…Read more…
Right to remain: Theresa May can break the deadlock
This week has seen a string of headlines about prospects for EU citizens in the UK and Brits in the EU’s right to remain after Brexit. Much of the media took aim at EU leaders – particularly German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of the European Council Donald Tusk – for…Read more…
Canadian & European civil society oppose EU-Canada trade agreement
Over 450 public interest groups from across Europe and Canada – including the TUC – today published an open letter urging legislators to vote against the EU-Canada ‘trade’ deal known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). They joined forces to defend…Read more…
Chancellor should ensure more money for a fairer deal on migration
Yesterday the TUC released a report calling on the Chancellor to use the Autumn Financial Statement on Wednesday to significantly increase the amount going to a Migration Impacts Fund so that areas that have experienced industrial decline, cuts to services and significant recent increases in…Read more…
Working people’s rights after Brexit: campaigning for continued compliance
This morning I was pleased to be asked to address a European policy forum in Yorksire & the Humber by the local Labour MEPs Linda MacAvan and Richard Corbett. Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Keir Starmer spoke for Labour. Here are some of the remarks I made about…Read more…
Globalisers’ response to popular concern on trade agreements? Shut down debate
When the Walloons finally agreed to accept the passage of the Canada-EU so-called trade agreement, or CETA, one of the concessions they secured was that the legality of the investor protection element of the deal (known as ICS) would be tested in the E…Read more…
High court puts #Brexit ball back in Parliament’s court
Today’s decision by the High Court that the decision about whether and when to trigger Article 50 and start the formal process of negotiating Britain’s exit from the UK will now go to the Supreme Court. The government does not want Parliament to have the decision-making power, so it is…Read more…
#CETA: zombie trade deal is no recipe for #Brexit
Today the Prime Minister of Canada flew into Brussels to sign the EU-Canada so-called trade agreement known as CETA – the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – with the European Union. For the past fortnight, the signing had been held up by the French speaking regional parliament…Read more…
Release them now
Unite strongly condemned Tuesday evening’s (October 25) detention of the co-mayors of Diyarbakir Ms Gültan Kışanak and Mr Fırat Anlı and the subsequent police attacks on civilians who were protesting…Read more…
CETA is not dead yet, UNISON warns
With the EU-Canada trade deal in limbo, the union calls for full parliamentary scrutiny of all post-Brexit trade agreeements
The article CETA is not dead yet, UNISON warns first appeared on the…Read more…