Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-21-Speech-2-019"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2008-10-21"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Challenges to collective agreements in the EU (debate)2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20081021.6.2-019"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2008-10-21-Speech-2-0212
lpv:speaker	lp:Mary Lou McDONALD2
lpv:spokenAs	unknown; Sinn Féin (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 substitute; LIBE (2007-01-31--2009-07-13)3 member; Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and to the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3 member_of_the_bureau; EUL/NGL (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 member; EMPL (2007-01-31--2009-07-13)3 substitute; Delegation to the EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3
lpv:translated text	"Madam President, over the years workers and trade unions have put their trust in the European Union to improve and protect their working conditions. Workers across Europe have a right to decent work, to equality for all workers. They have a right to organise, agitate and campaign to improve their lot at work. They have a rightful expectation that the law should recognise and vindicate these rights. The series of European Court of Justice rulings which the Andersson report purports to address represent an audacious attack on these basic rights. These court rulings have given the green light to the wholesale exploitation of workers. The court rulings are a reflection of the legal status quo, a reflection of the fact that, when workers’ rights collide with the rules of competition, it is the rule of competition which prevails. The court rulings have given legal legitimacy to what is called the ‘race to the bottom’. I am very disappointed with this report. It deliberately avoids calling for the changes to the EU Treaties that we all know are needed to protect workers. This call for Treaty change was deliberately and cynically removed from the first draft of this report, despite the overwhelming calls from the trade union movement across Europe for a social progress clause to be inserted in the Treaties. The vulnerability of workers’ rights was one of the main reasons for the Irish vote against the Lisbon Treaty, even though EU leaders conveniently prefer to ignore this uncomfortable fact. If any new treaty is to be acceptable to people across Europe, then it must ensure adequate protection for workers. We parliamentarians now have an opportunity to insist that the Treaties include a binding social progress clause or protocol. If the amendments to this effect do not pass today, then the European Parliament will have taken yet another step away from the people we purport to represent, and in this case I have no doubt that Irish workers will share my disappointment that the European Parliament has let them down."@en1
lpv:videoURI	<go to Events_and_structure europarl>2

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