Con Dem Employers Charter is an attack on Workers Rights

Keith Ewing, writing on the Guardian website, spells out the stark reality of worker’s rights in Britain today. He notes this and previous government's serious and serial breach of international treaty obligations. Keith exposes the complicity of Con Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable, who in publishing his so called Employers Charter, has issued a license to employers to abuse the vulnerable and the unprotected: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/31/cable-abuse-vulnerable-workers

The Con Dem Workers' Charter

• You have the right to a minimum wage, but not necessarily a living or a decent wage

• You have the right to "agree" to work more than 48 hours a week, but not to be paid an overtime rate if you do so

• Women have the right to equal pay to men, but typically to be paid less than a man

• You have the right not to be unfairly dismissed, but not to get your job back if your complaint succeeds

• You have a right to a redundancy payment if made redundant, but only if you have been with your employer for at least two years

• You have a right to have your trade union recognised by your employer, but only if at least 40% of your colleagues agree

• You have a right to strike, but only if your employer does not apply for an injunction on some spurious procedural technicality

• You have a right to use an employment tribunal to enforce your rights, but not to receive legal aid or legal representation

• You have the right to seek employment as an agency worker, but to be denied all meaningful forms of legal protection if you do so

• You have the right to agree to a "master and servant" contract, thereby allowing your employer to change the terms at will

• If you do bring legal proceedings against your employer, not only will you not receive legal aid, but you will be required to subsidise the employer's legal costs through the tax system. One reason why there is such a huge "inequality of arms" in employment disputes is that employers can write off their legal costs (and any compensation awarded against the business) against tax, leaving the rest of us to pick up the bill. Claimants gets no tax relief, and no legal aid.