On 10/06/2016 13:29, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
John Rumm wrote:
6) Will the working conditions of UK citizens be protected?

Yes, and hopefully not too much.

(look at the cluster **** that is the state of working conditions in
France. There is so much legislation protecting "the worker" that its
almost impossible for businesses to trade and operate effectively).
That's of no benefit to anyone in the end).

But France has different legislation to the UK.

Indeed it does...

It also has a very different make-up of workforce from here. The UK is
unrivalled anywhere in the EU for its flexible workforce (i.e. temps,
agency workers, freelancers, consultants, contractors etc as well as a
well skilled permanent workforce) and a legislative framework that
allows it to operate.

This is the problem. Many in the UK look at the worst aspect of an
individual EU country, and say 'look - that's what will happen here'

I was not suggesting that the worse excesses will necessarily come here.
However where you have legislation affecting workers being generated by
a club where all the other members have a workforce and working
traditions different to us, it should be no surprise that the rules they
concoct don't necessarily fit well with the UK way of operating.

Look at things like the EU working time directive or agency workers
legislation. Due to poor drafting or lack of basic understanding of how
our workforce operates, it manages to sweep loads of small consultancies
and business up in a net of red tape, even though they have no desire or
need to be "protected".

The fact that the large unions are much in favour of remaining in the EU
I see as a cause for concern - but that is prejudiced by my general
distrust of the unions - many of whom seem to see in the EU a way of
edging back to their positions of power and influence that they enjoyed
in the early 70's but which they lost due to the efforts of the
evil/great* Thatcher (* delete as appropriate depending on viewpoint).

Odd they didn't persuade the last Labour government to repeal the Thatcher
legislation, then?

Presumably not through lack of desire, but through a government that
even notionally left leaning implicitly recognised they were much needed
reforms and they would be unwise to rewind the clock.

Now comrade Corbyn is notionally in charge, we can see renewed interest
in that.

Unions don't have the same influence these days as once, because they
don't have the same percentage of the workforce as members. Because so
many that would once have been employees are now casual or freelance
workers, and a union can't do much for them.

There are trade bodies etc for freelancers should they need support with
areas outside of their skill set, but the need for traditional
collective bargaining is significantly less obviously.

My guess is if we vote out, the extreme right wing will get power. Plenty
of them in the existing Tory party.

I think the threat of the extreme right is rising all over Europe,
something needs to give, and that means radical reform of the EU. We are
not going to achieve that inside it. We may however kick it hard enough
to start the process by leaving.

And they have a great deal of interest in restricting both human rights
and employment rights.

I would say our current record on both has a resonable balance at the
moment. Based on their input so far, ISTM that the EU can offer nothing
to improve the situation.

--
Cheers,

John.

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