Lisbon Treaty (No. 3)

Thank you. I would welcome the chance to debate the matter; I will come to Rotherham, and we might discuss it in a closed meeting of trade unionists and Labour party members. On the Latvia case, the Court also argued that the Swedish union had to recognise the agreement reached in Latvia. It referred the case back to the Swedish courts. One reason why it did so was that the charter of fundamental rights was not legally binding at that stage. Under the treaty, it becomes so. I am glad that my right hon. Friend thinks that the argument we are beginning to construct is powerful. The two cases I mention show how the EU has in too many instances become a factor in accelerating a race to the bottom on labour standards across Europe. John Monks is always seen as a big supporter of Europe, but he has said the following in the light of those two cases:"““The court has ruled in effect that the right to strike is not as important as the unimpeded free flow of services and labour. As such, more 'social dumping'—namely downward pressure on wages from cheaper sources—is now acceptable and is to be encouraged. To trade unionists around Europe it is plain that the EU, which hitherto has generally upheld workers' rights—in contrast to the US, and sometimes, sadly, the UK—has now taken a neoliberal, anti-trade union turn.””" Coming from John Monks, that is a powerful statement.