[IER] As Brexit Bill gains royal assent, how will we protect workers' rights?

Fri Mar 17 17:31:37 GMT 2017

IER News Brief 17/03/17

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news brief

Friday 17th March 2017

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The Brexit Bill gained royal assent yesterday (16 March 2017), allowing Theresa May to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of negotiating an exit deal with the EU. The government has said it will give its notice to Brussels by the end of the month.

Since the referendum last summer, a key cause of concern for workers across the UK has been how Brexit - and the new international trade deals that follow it - may affect employment rights both for migrant workers and those born in the UK.

The future looks uncertain for migrant workers, as the Tories earlier this week removed a Lords amendment to the Brexit Bill, which would have guaranteed the right to stay for the UK's three million EU residents. This adds to the many pressing issues currently facing migrant workers that were discussed on Wednesday's Migration after Brexit event, hosted by the IER in London. Many thanks to the delegates that attended this lively debate, and for those who missed out, please click here <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=2a13d4b2ca&e=71131c031b>  to read a detailed report from our blogger Roger Jeary and download papers and presentations for free.

For non-migrant workers, too, the exit from the EU could pose a risk to conditions in the workplace. Last autumn, research by the House of Commons Library <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=6ddba48d91&e=71131c031b>  warned that workers' rights won in European courts could be overturned after Brexit unless the government enshrines these rights into primary legislation. The Tories continue to talk about a British Bill of Rights and a withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights, which could put some workers' rights at risk of dilution, such as the Right to Freedom of Association, which protects trade unions and industrial action among other forms of protest.

Elsewhere, international trade deals could lead to further degradation of workers' rights, with the government likely to be under pressure from other nations to provide a "flexible" workforce for foreign business. It is imperative, therefore, that the labour movement unites to campaign for the protection of workers' rights after Brexit.

Beyond that, the IER also argues that Brexit need not only present a risk to workers, but also an opportunity to improve the rights we have. Following the withdrawal from the EU, the UK will need to pass new legislation to replace EU directives and regulations, and we argue that EU workers' rights should not only be protected but built upon. In our Manifesto for Labour Law, the principles of which have been adopted by the Labour Party, 15 leading lawyers and academics propose reforms that would lead to a reduction in inequality (the UK is now the second-most unequal country in the G7), and an improvement in national produtivity (the UK's productivity gap with the G7 is now the widest on record). Click here to read more about the Manifesto and purchase your copy <http://ier.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=bc3389c8f5&e=71131c031b> .

To kickstart what promises to be an ongoing debate around Brexit and employment rights, the IER will be hosting a free event on Tuesday 28 March in London <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=c4e084f113&e=71131c031b> . Speakers include our Chair John Hendy QC, our President Professor Keith Ewing, NUT General Secretary Kevin Courtney, Professor Sandy Fredman from the Oxford Human Rights Hub, Professor Nicola Countouris from University College London, and Martin Smith from the Labour Party's Workforce 2020 consultation into strengthening workers' rights. Registration is not necessary but we expect a packed house, so please arrive when the doors open at 17:45 to secure your seat.

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	COMMENT: Migration after Brexit: the challenge to labour standards
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 <http://ier.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=aa319d74b5&e=71131c031b> > click here to read full story

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Migration after Brexit: the challenge to labour standards

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	Download free papers and presentations from this week's Migration after Brexit event and read Roger Jeary's detailed report into the debate here <http://ier.us12.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f121e48a8bb6d3101590c12d3&id=077c552cdc&e=71131c031b> .

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