FSB welcomes Lords rejection of EU paper

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has welcomed a House of Lords report that rejects European Commission proposals to extend EU labour laws.

The report, Modernising European Union labour law: has the UK anything to gain?, argues that the relatively light regulation of the UK labour market has boosted flexible employment arrangements, which has benefited the UK economy.

The report came in response to the European Commission's Green Paper on EU labour law and hard on the heels of negotiations at the recent summit about the EU Treaty, which, according to the FSB, could severely damage UK employment practices.

Alan Tyrrell, FSB Employment Chairman, said: "We are pleased that their Lordships listened to our views when we gave evidence on the EU Green Paper on Labour law. Their report demonstrates that there is no desire in the UK for the imposition of further EU-inspired labour law.

"Unfortunately, this comes hard on the heels of the UK government signing away its right to prevent this happening in the future at the recent EU summit. This could have grave consequences for small businesses in the UK.

"Despite government claims to the contrary, leading EU legal academics point out that the UK's opt-out from the Charter, which includes the right to strike ballots, secondary picketing, collective bargaining and more, is not legally enforceable."