{"id":5141,"date":"2020-03-17T03:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T03:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/?p=5141"},"modified":"2020-03-17T03:48:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T03:48:00","slug":"brexit-factsheet-11-workers-rights-come-from-the-uk-not-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/?p=5141","title":{"rendered":"Brexit factsheet 11: Workers\u2019 rights come from the UK, not the EU"},"content":{"rendered":"<div readability=\"140.70287273132\">\n                                <a name=\"body\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>The EU doesn\u2019t even have minimum wage legislation<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/workers_rights.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"99\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/factsheet_11_workers_rights_v11.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/factsheet_11_workers_rights_big.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"70\" height=\"99\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Brexit Factsheet no.11 \u00a9 Brexit Facts4EU.Org.  Click right image for the one-page factsheet.<\/p>\n<h3>It isn&#8217;t the EU that has been responsible for improved workers&#8217; rights<\/h3>\n<p>One of the many myths about the EU is that it has been responsible for the minimum statutory workers&#8217; rights and women\u2019s rights enjoyed in the UK today.  The truth is very different.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div class=\"facts4eu-summary-red\" readability=\"48\">\n<h3>Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary<\/h3>\n<p>Workers\u2019 &#038; women&#8217;s rights come from the UK, not the EU<\/p>\n<p>The EU doesn\u2019t even have minimum wage legislation<\/p>\n<p>Factsheet No.11 \u2013 Workers&#8217; and women&#8217;s rights &#8211; 09 Nov 2019<br \/>From official EU and UK Government sources, for MPs and for ordinary members of the public<\/p>\n<p>One of the many myths about the EU is that it has been responsible for the minimum statutory workers&#8217; rights and women\u2019s rights enjoyed in the UK today.  The truth is very different.<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is no EU statutory right to a minimum wage<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Within EU treaties, laws, directives, &#038; regulations, there is no requirement to have a minimum wage\n<\/li>\n<li>Six EU countries don\u2019t have one at all (Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland, Sweden)\n<\/li>\n<li>Where they exist, the uneven playing field has Latvia at the bottom, with Luxembourg\u2019s almost 5 times higher\n<\/li>\n<li>The UK is seventh on the list, with its own legislation since 1998<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0EU healthcare rights are way below UK standards<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Healthcare in the EU is generally not free \u2013 most people pay for top-up private insurance\n<\/li>\n<li>In many countries you pay, and get only partially reimbursed later\n<\/li>\n<li>In France it costs \u00a326 just for 5 minutes with your GP, paid at the time\n<\/li>\n<li>With the UK\u2019s NHS, treatment is free at the point of delivery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0EU workers\u2019 rights laws are lower than UK\u2019s<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>UK statutory paid holiday entitlement is 28 days, in EU only 20 days\n<\/li>\n<li>UK National Minimum Wage Act 1998 \u2013 there&#8217;s no minimum wage in the EU\n<\/li>\n<li>\u2018Statutory maternity pay\u2019 \u2013 UK: up to 39 weeks, EU: 14 weeks. UK employees can take up to 52 weeks\u2019 leave\n<\/li>\n<li>Under EU laws, the Britons\u2019 rights would only decrease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0UK established workers\u2019 rights long before EU<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cProtection against sex, race and disability discrimination in the UK pre-dated EU law\u201d (from TUC report)\n<\/li>\n<li>Women\u2019s rights: Equal Pay Act, Abortion Act and Divorce Reform Act were all passed before UK even joined EU\n<\/li>\n<li>Sex Discrimination Act, Domestic Violence Act, Employment Protection Act \u2013 no EU involvement\n<\/li>\n<li>EU\u2019s Posted Workers Directive means EU workers can be employed in UK for fraction of the cost of UK workers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Finally, workers\u2019 rights are only relevant if you have work<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the Eurozone, austerity has taken the jobs of millions of workers\n<\/li>\n<li>You\u2019re almost twice as likely to be out of work in the EU27\n<\/li>\n<li>An entire young generation across southern Europe has been devastated by 30-50% unemployment for years<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/avg_unemp.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/avg_unemp.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"348\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Brexit Facts4EU.Org.  (Click chart to enlarge)<\/p>\n<p>In all the workers&#8217; and women&#8217;s rights above, the UK&#8217;s statutory arrangements are better than those which would be applicable under EU law<\/p>\n<p>[ Sources: Hansard, EC Working Time Directive 93\/104\/EC, TUC report 2016 on Workers\u2019 Rights, EU Commission, Competences between UK and EU Social and Employment Policy (UK Gov\u2019t), National Minimum Wage Act, EU Parliament report Mar 2019 ]<\/p>\n<p>Researched and produced by Brexit Facts4EU.Org.  Endorsed independently by 10 Brexit organisations, 09 Nov 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3>Endorsed by TEN Brexit organisations with big reach<\/h3>\n<div class=\"row\" readability=\"16.5\">\n<div class=\"col-md-9\" readability=\"26\">\n<p>We are pleased to tell readers that we have received endorsements for this factsheet from nine other Brexit organisations, each acting independently. <b>With us that makes TEN.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/10_logos_091119.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"561\" height=\"50\"><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Logos are the copyright of each organisation<\/p>\n<p>These are: <b>Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Alliance of British Entrepreneurs, Get Britain Out, Economists for Free Trade, Fishing for Leave, Global Britain, Campaign for an Independent Britain, Scots for Leave, Green Leaves, and Veterans for Britain<\/b>.  We recommend visiting their websites and following them on Twitter and Facebook, if you haven&#8217;t already done so.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md-3\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/factsheet_11_workers_rights_v11.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/factsheet_11_workers_rights_big.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"181\" height=\"255\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Brexit Facts4EU.Org &#8211; click for full-size PDF version<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Further action:<\/b> This factsheet follows on from the first ten factsheets in the \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/brexit_fightback_initiative\" target=\"_blank\">Brexit Fightback Initiative<\/a>\u2019.  More factsheets are coming, as soon as we get enough donations to continue.  In the meantime we hope that readers will do everything they can to promote them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"facts4eu-summary-navy\" readability=\"76\">\n<p>We would like to thank the following readers for their specific support of the Brexit Fightback Initiative<\/p>\n<p><b>VIP Sponsors (\u00a3100 donation or more):<\/b> Geoffrey Burwood, Barbara Jell, David Hurlbut, Jon from Wales, Patrick Ford, Michael Garland, Sydney Ashurst, Keith Hartrick, Michael Donnan, Ann Donnan, Philip Jackson, John M, Richard Lark<\/p>\n<p><b>Gold Sponsors (From \u00a350 donation):<\/b> Linda Thorpe, Margaret Dennis, David Warren, Jean Shaw, Frank Wilman, <\/p>\n<p><b>Sponsors (From \u00a310 donation):<\/b> Nigel Wright, Jennifer Sayer, Ian Etheridge, Christine Baxendale, Mick Davies, Mel, Kevin Burrell, DM Hedley, Elaine Grant, Patrick Lane, Maureen Cooper, Rob Dilly, Geoffrey Bastin, Elizabeth Ford, Gary Bruce, R Livingstone, Peter Richardson, Peter Agate, Steve Hutchinson, Michael Wood, Phillip Bater, Paul Musgrove, Raymond Beerling, Rod Pudney, Chris Walmsley, Julian Eagle, David Lucas, Catherine Gandolfi, Patricia Bailey, Paul Gladwin, Tim Groves, Stuart Cooper, Stuart Andrews, Melissa Campbell, Paul Nevard, Chris Magness, Mrs M Pedlar<\/p>\n<p>P.S.  If we have inadvertently missed you off the list, please let us know!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/brexit_fightback_initiative\" target=\"_blank\">Want to see all factsheets in this series?  Click here<\/a>!<\/p>\n<div class=\"heading\" readability=\"50.740030287733\">\n<h3 class=\"uppercase\">Observations<\/h3>\n<p>We have one fundamental question for Remainers like Mr Corbyn&#8217;s Labour Party who try to pretend that workers&#8217; rights protections come from the EU.<\/p>\n<p>Aside from the fact that they don&#8217;t &#8211; as we have shown above &#8211; why on earth can&#8217;t we decide these things for ourselves?  Why insist that people whom we can&#8217;t vote in or out, from other countries, should decide these things for us?  Where&#8217;s the democratic oversight and control in that?<\/p>\n<p>General points<\/p>\n<p>Once again Brexit Facts4EU.Org has summarised the results of our years of research and articles into a simple one-pager for the public and for MPs.  And this factsheet has been endorsed by ten major Brexit organisations, including us.<\/p>\n<p>By the very nature of a one-pager it is impossible to include all the facts we have published over the past few years. In common with the other factsheets in this series we have looked at facts which we believe are of most interest.<\/p>\n<p>As ever, Remainer MPs and campaigners will say \u201cOh but what about xyz?\u201d  Our response is simple.  First, answer the abc\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p><b>This is the eleventh in the <a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/brexit_fightback_initiative\" target=\"_blank\">Brexit Fightback Initiative series of one-pagers<\/a> and we desperately need to get the rest completed, endorsed, and promoted.<\/b> Other subjects will include another Defence paper and other fundamental areas where we have powerful arguments to make.  They will contain official facts and figures, and simple charts, to illustrate the points at a glance.<\/p>\n<p>We are very grateful to readers who have supported the Brexit Fightback Initiative with donations.  We need more readers to become Sponsors if we are to complete this essential task urgently.<\/p>\n<p>We are inviting readers to help by becoming a Sponsor (\u00a310 donation), a Gold Sponsor (\u00a350 donation), or a VIP Sponsor (\u00a3100 and above). We will not publish your name unless you give express permission, naturally, and your contact details are never used.<\/p>\n<p>To become a Sponsor, please just use the quick and secure donation methods below this article. Thank you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.\n<\/p>\n<p>[ Sources: Hansard, EC Working Time Directive 93\/104\/EC, TUC report 2016 on Workers\u2019 Rights, EU Commission, Competences between UK and EU Social and Employment Policy (UK Gov\u2019t), National Minimum Wage Act, EU Parliament report Mar 2019 ] <br \/>&#8211; Brexit Facts4EU.Org, 05 Nov 2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/news\">Click here to go to our news headlines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>And please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"page-share\">\n<p class=\"page-share-intro uppercase highlight-red\">Share this article on<\/p>\n<p><span><a class=\"share-link share-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/news\/2019_nov_brexit_initiative_factsheet_11\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/span><span><a class=\"share-link share-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Brexit+factsheet+11%3A+Workers%E2%80%99+rights+come+from+the+UK%2C+not+the+EU&#038;url=https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/news\/2019_nov_brexit_initiative_factsheet_11&#038;via=facts4euorg\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"funding-request\" readability=\"11.5\">\n<div readability=\"18\">\n<p class=\"text-center\"><b>Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org<br \/>has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-center\"><b>Supported by MPs, MEPs, &#038; other groups, our work has impact.<\/b>\n<\/p>\n<p>We think facts matter.<br \/>\n<b>Please donate today<\/b>, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-5 one-off-donation\">\n<h4 class=\"highlight-red text-center\">Any credit card user<\/h4>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/app.moonclerk.com\/pay\/72uak0b7eefu\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Donate\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/supp_sgl.png\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6\">\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/app.moonclerk.com\/pay\/4kg41bl800na\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Subscribe\" src=\"https:\/\/facts4eu.org\/static\/media\/supp_mthly.png\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-6 regular-donation\">\n<h4 class=\"highlight-red text-center\">Paypal Users Only &#8211; <span>Choose amount first<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The EU doesn\u2019t even have minimum wage legislation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Brexit Factsheet no.11 \u00a9 Brexit Facts4EU.Org. Click right image for the one-page factsheet. It isn&#8217;t the EU that has been responsible for improved workers&#8217; rights One of the many myths about the EU is that it has been responsible for the minimum statutory workers&#8217; rights and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/facts4eu.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}