On 1 Jun 2016 at 2:26pm Unison Union wrote:
UNISON is to campaign for the UK to stay part of the European Union, and will be encouraging its 1.3 million members to vote remain on 23 June.
The decision was taken today (Wednesday) at a meeting of the union’s governing NEC, and follows an extensive UK-wide consultation and survey across UNISON’s branches.
The fear that Brexit would mean the loss of the many workplace rights – parental leave, paid holiday, protection for part-timers and limits on excessive hours – that UK employees have come to take for granted is the most important issue in the coming referendum, according to UNISON’s overwhelmingly female membership.
Concern over what might happen to those employment rights should the UK vote to leave the EU was closely followed by worries about the plight of the country’s public services if Britain opted to go it alone.
In the consultative survey, almost four in five (78%) of UNISON’s health, local government, education, energy and police branches wanted the union to take a stance in the EU referendum. Of these, the overwhelming majority (95%) wanted UNISON to campaign for the UK to stay in Europe.
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “Europe isn’t perfect, but on balance staying in the EU has so much more to offer nurses, teaching assistants, town hall staff and other public servants than an uncertain future where the UK goes it alone.
Check it out here »
On 1 Jun 2016 at 4:12pm . wrote:
Perhaps they will be using the 188,193 Euros they recently were revealed to have 'received' from the EU to campaign with.
On 1 Jun 2016 at 4:45pm Mavis wrote:
Didn't we all have paid holidays, and other benefits long before the EU was invented ? As for excessive hours, decent hours like 30-40 per week must be better than zero hour contract that we have now ! Plus we will still be able to visit Europe, it's not going anywhere ! We need a passport now anyway, so what's new ?
On 1 Jun 2016 at 5:09pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Paid holiday has only been statutory since 2009. Before that, lots of workers, especially casual/temporary workers and those on ZHCs, often didn't get paid leave at all.
On 1 Jun 2016 at 5:22pm Robbie wrote:
Pretty sure 20 days was statutory long before 2009 rules came in Annette, I've certainly never had less than 20 days in the 30 odd years I've worked (fulltime jobs of course).
On 1 Jun 2016 at 7:33pm Yawn wrote:
Actually ACT, statutory holidays have been law in this country since 1998, in another thread you claim TUPE is a result of the EU, yet is has been UK derived law since 1981 - still, let's not let facts get in the way of rhetoric eh?
On 1 Jun 2016 at 10:19pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Iirc, the statutory right to paid holiday was in the Working Time Regs, which were passed to enshrine the EU Working Hours Directive, so we have Europe to thank for that.
TUPE regs were indeed passed in 1981, but in response to another EU directive, which I think was the Acquired Rights Directive. There were loads of ECJ cases following the first directive, and I think they were subsequently clarified to reflect the precedents.
On 1 Jun 2016 at 11:19pm wrote:
So.. let me get this straight Yawn, are you telling us that law was put in effect what.... 8 years after we joined the EU?
Let's not let facts get in the way of rhetoric eh?
On 2 Jun 2016 at 7:44am . wrote:
ACT is a bigot towards the working man and women god forbid they might vote in the wrong government best remove democracy and hand it to the neoliberal elites in brussels.
On 3 Jun 2016 at 11:08am Clifford wrote:
ACT - do you think, overall, workers are in a stronger position now than they were in, say, 1972? I'm thinking of zero hours and short-term contracts, unpaid 'interns' and 'volunteers', which I really don't remember being spread wholesale across the economy as they are now. Has EU membership protected workers against them?
On 3 Jun 2016 at 1:59pm Dripping Pan Stan wrote:
Well if Unison are in, I'm out.
Bunch of soppy Lefties who have managed to convince an unskilled/semi-skilled, workforce that they are worth a lot more than they really are.
Thatch should have crushed all the Unions when she had them on the ropes.