THE UK Government is reportedly planning to scrap limits on working hours as part of a war on workers’ rights and inherited EU law.
Ministers are said to be looking at scrapping the EU working time directive, which is still part of UK law despite Brexit.
It is part of a wider bonfire of European law inherited by British statute books after the country left the EU.
The Telegraph and The Sun both reported on Wednesday that Tory ministers want to scrap the working time limits – which prevent bosses from forcing staff to work more than 48 hours in a week – because they believed it was key to tackling the UK’s productivity problem.
The SNP said the rumoured move was part of a wider battle against workers’ rights by Westminster – pointing to the Government’s plans to introduce strict curbs on the right to strike.
SNP MP Chris Stephens said: “Under Westminster control, our hard-fought employment rights are under serious threat from this Tory Government.
“And don’t expect Keir Starmer’s pro-Brexit Labour Party to win them back as they will keep Scotland out of the European Union.
“We have already seen the Tories clamping down on the right to strike and the right to protest. It feels like there is no basic human right that is not under threat from this Tory government.
“The EU working time directive is essential to ensure workers are not forced by their employer to work overtime without being paid for it. It also protects our right to paid holidays and breaks, but that would be ripped up by the Tories due to their Brexit obsession.
“With the Tories and the pro-Brexit Labour Party working hand in hand to keep us out of the European Union our employment rights are not safe under Westminster control and the only way we can guarantee them is with independence.”
