Oral Answers to Questions

Ian Mearns Excerpts

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Laura Pidcock (North West Durham) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to maintain workers’ rights in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

[Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to maintain workers’ rights in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

19. What steps he is taking to maintain workers’ rights in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Davis]

Yes, I can give that guarantee. The hon. Lady’s constituency voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union, and it did that with open eyes. This assertion that our trade union rights and, more importantly, our employment law rights are somehow less good than in the rest of the European Union is simply untrue. My first meeting as Secretary of State was with the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress. The reason for that was that I knew her, because I had been co-operating with her on trade union law reform just a few months earlier. If the hon. Lady wants a single test of employment protection in the United Kingdom versus the European Union, she should look at the most fundamental right, which is the right to safety at work. We have one of the best records in the European Union for safety at work—much better than Germany, much better than Italy, much better than nearly all European countries.

[Ian Mearns]

I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for saying that he intends to extend workers’ rights when it is right to do so, but my great concern is that some in the Conservative party may see this as an opportunity to deregulate further the rights of our citizens at work. Will he look at doing away with employment tribunal fees, which prevent young workers, particularly women, from taking sexual harassment claims against their employers?

[Mr Davis]

The first thing to say to the hon. Gentleman is that in the first three speeches I made after taking this job, I made it very clear that we were not going to use departure from the European Union as a way of reducing employment rights.

In addition, independently of this process, the Prime Minister initiated the Matthew Taylor review. The point of that review was to report back on employment rights—security, pay, progression and training, as well as the balance of rights and responsibilities, representation, opportunities for under-represented groups, and new business models in the gig economy and such things. The Prime Minister actually intends to improve employment rights, not reduce them.