Thread by @GMB_union

🧵THREAD 👇

There’s a secret horror lurking in Theresa May’s Brexit deal, leaving the door open to a venomous attack on our hard-won rights at work (1/15)

⚠️WARNING: THIS MIGHT SHOCK YOU 👇

May’s initial Political Declaration on 14 November pledged “reaffirmation of the UK’s commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights” after Brexit (2/15)

Important commitment because this international law has been the backbone of human rights and political freedoms in Europe for 65 years ⚖️ (3/15)

It protects the right to freedom of assembly and association, including the right to form trade unions. Important arbiter on workers’ rights in legal cases – e.g. Ognevenko v Russia (4/15) perc.ituc-csi.org/Russia-Importa…

ECHR also covers the right to life, prohibition of torture, slavery + forced labour, right to liberty + security, freedom of expression, fair trial + due process, respect for private + family life, freedom of thought and religion. Our rights ✅ (5/15)

That commitment to rights in the draft was watered down in her deal’s final Political Declaration on 22 November to “continued commitment to respect the framework of the ECHR” (6/15)

📝 Just a tweak in wording? Afraid not. (7/15)

"Respect the framework" is a political measure, not a legally enforceable one. Significant. Means the UK would not have to be a signatory to the ECHR (8/15)

But then elsewhere in the final Political Declaration there is a full-bodied commitment to “continued adherence and giving effect to the ECHR" 🔒 (9/15)

That’s a MUCH stronger commitment to protecting rights. So nothing to worry about, right? Erm, wrong ❌ (10/15)

That commitment is restricted to ‘Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation’ on crime - cross-border policing and extradition arrangements. e.g. Europol and European Arrest Warrant. Meaningfully restrictive to this ONE area ONLY. (11/15)

Theresa May’s Brexit ‘deal would instead see the existing backstop on all those other rights - the ECHR - pulled from beneath our feet 🐾 (12/15)

So, when one of May’s ministers recently admitted to a Select Committee that the Government was only committed to not repealing the Human Rights Act “while the process of EU exit is underway” … (13/15)

…and that ministers would “wait until the process of leaving the EU concludes before considering this matter further” we should be afraid 😱 Very afraid. (14/15)
parliament.uk/documents/lord…

There’s so much else wrong with May’s ‘deal but staggering that MPs could consider handing away hard-won protections to a PM who has been looking for ways to rip up our rights for years 🗑️- and is now hostage to her Party's hard right fringe (15/15).
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

P.S. just a few examples of what leading Tory Brexiteers actually believe when it comes to workers’ rights. This is central to their core political beliefs - for some that’s what Brexit is actually for.