Trade union leaders underwhelmed by May Brexit meeting
PM refuses to rule out no-deal or guarantee workers rights
British trades union leaders came away from a Brexit meeting with Theresa May on Thursday with no agreement and a call for the prime minister to stop pandering to “the bad boys at the back of the class”.
As May continued to dig her heels in and refused to consider taking a no-deal scenario off the table, Trades Union Congress leader Frances O'Grady expressed concerns that pro-Brexit ultra-right supporters would use it to erode workers rights.
She also came under attack from businesses over her handling of Brexit, with the chief executive of Airbus calling it a “disgrace” and threatened to move wing manufacture out of the UK, while Ford predicted that no-deal would result in costs of $800m (£612m) during 2019 alone.
In an unusual move for a Conservative leader, May invited O'Grady, and the leaders of the Unite, Unison and GMB unions to Downing Street for discussions on how to break the Brexit impasse. The Tories are not normally on cordial terms with the labour movement.
However, after making vague offers about retaining worker protections currently enshrined in EU law, May declined to give hard assurances that these would be retained after Britain leaves the bloc at the end of March.
The TUC's O'Grady said May was "on a temporary contract - she cannot bind the hands of a future prime minister", referring to May's pledge last month not to lead the Tories into the next General election.
"People wanting her job are on record as saying Brexit is an opportunity to reduce workers' rights,” O'Grady said.
"The prime minister, frankly, has to stop playing to the bad boys at the back of the class and start listening to where I think parliament is, which is wanting no deal off the table and more time for genuine talks to take place."
GMB general secretary Tim Roache said May "failed to give us the guarantees we need over protecting jobs and rights at work" and refused to extend Article 50, the mechanism by which countries leave the EU.
"The concerns from members and their employers are mounting by the day as the clock runs down, and yet the prime minister is still refusing to take her threat of no deal off the table. We can’t carry on like this. As this crisis worsens, pretending nothing has changed is simply not good enough."
"The current deal doesn’t cut it. It pleases no one. We need a permanent customs union, legally binding commitments to workers’ rights that can’t be ignored or ripped up by a future Tory government and a policy agenda that tackles the reasons people voted to leave in the first place."
In Westminster, Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd defied May and renewed her demand for Conservative MPs to be given a free vote next week so that she could back an extension to Article 50. Parliament will debate a government motion on Tuesday where pro-EU members are expected to table amendments.
The depth of feeling over opposing the no-deal option was summed up by Business Minister Richard Harrington who welcomed the Airbus comments and challenged May to sack him.
“I really don’t believe in this idea (no-deal). I am very happy to be public about it and very happy if the prime minister decides I am not the right person to do the business industry job.”