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EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (centre) wears a protective face mask as he walks to the European Council building in Brussels
EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONGRESS (ETUC) general secretary Luca Visentini has called on the European Union to protect workers’ rights, warning of a risk of “downward pressure” from Britain during Brexit negotiations.
In a letter to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Monday, the ETUC raised concerns that the so-called level playing-field (LPF) provisions contained in the draft treaty between the EU and Britain failed to adequately protect labour rights, focusing mainly on the issue of state aid regulation.
Mr Visentini said: “There seem to be talks around a non-regression clause, but not much around the concept of a ratchet clause to ensure the parties — and the UK in particular — continue in their path of upward convergence and uphold the highest standards.”
The biggest strike in global history is a template for our future. The silence tells you all you need to know, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE
MARTYN GRAY asks TUC congress to endorse measures that would help stop the present exploitation of seafarers
It is only trade union power at work that will materially improve the lot of working people as a class but without sector-wide collective bargaining and a right to take sympathetic strike action, we are hamstrung in the fight to tilt back the balance of power, argues ADRIAN WEIR