GMB union calls on EU states to reject any changes to workers’ laws in UK

The GMB union has called on EU states to reject any demands Prime Minister David Cameron may make to change European working time and agency workers laws in re-negotiations of the UK relationship with the EU later this week.
Wed, 24 Jun 2015

The GMB union has called on EU states to reject any demands Prime Minister David Cameron may make to change European working time and agency workers laws in re-negotiations of the UK relationship with the EU later this week.

The GMB has written to all 27 EU states calling on them not to accede to a demand they claim the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Conservative Party have made to get rid of parts of European working time and agency worker legislation in the UK as part of the PM’s renegotiations at an EU Summit in Brussels, set for this Thursday and Friday.

European working time laws ensure that workers don’t usually have to work more than 48 hours a week on average, unless they choose to, while Agency Worker Regulations (AWR), originally an EU directive, was introduced in October 2011, giving agency workers the same rights as full-time workers to pay, holiday leave and other benefits after 12 weeks in employment. 

Last month CBI deputy director-general Katja Hall wrote to the Financial Times regarding the renegotiations. She emphasised the UK’s need for a flexible labour market and claimed that some rules coming out of Europe, such as governing agency temps, threaten to put that flexibility at risk. 

While the CBI did not disclose whether they have called for changes to working time or agency worker laws, a CBI spokesperson told Recruiter UK businesses want the EU to do “less of what it does badly”, including regulation on lifestyle issues or some aspects of employment law.

Earlier this month recruitment industry specialist Kevin Barrow claimed the UK’s continuing adherence to the AWR could be in doubt were the PM to make it part of the government’s renegotiation with the EU. 

Recruiter contacted government for comment on the GMB union’s claims but had not heard back by press deadlines.

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