Burnley and Padiham MP Antony Higginbotham spoke in the House of Commons on Monday night to defend workers rights, comparing the high level of UK standards to much less protections enjoyed by workers in the EU.
Speaking in the Opposition day debate on workers’ rights Antony said,
We have some of the best standards in the world for workers and there will be no change.
We have 28 days of annual leave in the UK, compared with a requirement of 20 in the EU. Parental leave allowance stops for a child of eight in the EU but at 18 in the UK. Maternity leave is paid for 39 weeks in the UK, but for only 14 weeks in the EU.
However, protecting UK workers means more than just these rights; it is about making sure that people get a decent wage for the work that they do.
Reference was also made to the comments of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who stated “I just want to make something very clear and unequivocal at the outset: we will not reduce workers’ rights”.
Citing changes made by the Conservative Government on the minimum wage and the threshold for paying tax Antony also spoke of the 10p tax bracket which was scrapped by the previous Labour Government.
Speaking after the debate Antony said:
I heard first hand in the debate Labour's attempt not only to cling to EU regulations by the back door, but also to fear monger as they have tried to do many times before. But the Secretary of State could not have been clearer - we have one of the best packages of protections for workers anywhere in the world and the Government is committed to maintaining and enhancing that.
Both the Business Secretary and the Government have committed to keeping the high protections enjoyed by workers post Brexit.
