Cameron just wants to strip rights away
In the weeks ahead, I am sure readers will begin to become informed about the benefits, or not, of our continued membership of the European Union.
In particular, the seemingly innocuous, harmless demand that the UK renegotiates our membership.
For the sake of clarity, I thought it worthwhile to record what Mr Cameron means by renegotiation.
Whenever a Conservative talks of renegotiation for the good of the UK, the public can be assured that the last thing the Tories have in mind is the betterment of the workers.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Sunday, June 30 2013
Simply put, what Dave really wants from any renegotiation is a repatriation of all those EU workers' rights that the average Tory hates with a passion.
Renegotiation, for Tories, means no paid holidays – let alone holidays – no restriction on the length of the working week, no maternity pay or leave, no paid redundancies, no obligations to provide a pension to the workers, no statutory health and safety, no compensation for injuries caused by an employer's negligence, and so on.
In short, any EU legislation that puts workers' rights on a par with an obligation on the employer is akin to a cobra bite.
If anybody thinks I am barking, you only have to look back at the report the Government requested last year, of which the highlight was the right to fire on the spot.
While I am sure a renegotiation of our EU membership would not go amiss, let's not get carried away that, on this occasion, Dave is some sort of cuddly teddy bear.
He is more like a grizzly bear intent on destroying all vestiges of an equitable work-life balance.
Rob Thomas, Botcheston.
Comments
by agewait
Sunday, February 17 2013, 1:45PM
“Myths and stereotypes abound about welfare benefits, Lie-Dems/Tories live on spin and Labour shows no passion in refuting the lies that scapegoat, Myths that simply label, categorise and dismiss the voiceless, the powerless the marginalised. The Shame lays with Parliament – the Disengaged preaching at the Trapped.
Myth 1: there is a big problem with families where generations have never worked. The truth is that the Labour Force Survey shows only 0.3% where two or more generations of working age have never worked.
Myth 2: most benefits spending goes to unemployed people of working age. The is completely wrong. The biggest element of social security expenditure |(42%) goes to pensioners. Then housing benefit is next, accounting for 20%, of whom one-fifth are in work. Then 15% goes on children, through child benefit and child tax credit. Some 8% goes on disability living allowance, 4% on income support mainly for single parents and carers, 4% on employment and support allowance to those who can't work due to sickness or disability, and 2% on carer's allowance and maternity pay. Just 3% is spent on jobseeker's allowance.
Myth 3: benefit fraud is high and increasing. The latest official DWP estimates show that last year just 0.7% of benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud, including a mere 0.3% for incapacity benefits. It is equally false that benefit fraud is increasing. The figures for combined fraud and customer error for JSA and income support show it halved from 9.4% in 1997-8 to only 4.8% in 2004-5.
Myth 4: it is often said that couples on benefits are better off if they split up. In fact, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation found that the benefits system provides very similar living standards to families irrespective whether the live together or apart.
Myth 5: the welfare bill has ballooned out of control and grew unsustainably under Labour. In fact, welfare expenditure totalled 11.6% under the Tories in 1996-7, but only 10.7% under Labour up to the crash in 2008-9.
Myth 6: it is said that most benefit claims are long-term so that claimants 'languish in dependency'. The truth is that over the 2003-8 period leading up to the crash, only 37% received incapacity benefit long term, while 38% were on benefit for less tha one year.
Myth 7: social security benefits are too generous. In fact unemployment benefit levels fall well below what research shows most people believe should form a minimum household budget. A single adult of working age receives just 40% of the weekly minimum income standard, and a couple with two children receive only 62% of the weekly minimum.
Myth 8: most people who claim disability benefits could be working. The truth is that many of the people claiming incapacity benefits are those with low employability in areas of few jobs. Unemployment remains at 2.6 million, there are an average of 8 persons chasing every available job, and most employers (given the choice, which in a very slack labour market they have) would prefer not to take on the risk and hassle of employing a disabled person. Many people then end up in a situation where they are not fit enough to do the jobs they can get, but can't get the jobs they can do.
Do we prefer myths to truth? The Media today no longer employs journalists to investigate for the truth; rather they (the journalists) have become a very effective spin machine – Or should that be Propaganda machine – Too quick to denounce others with their vitriolic language.
Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere”