Liz Truss to 'save' us from winter of discontent... and then plan for a bonfire of workers' rights (halve our paid holiday, increase max working week to 60 hours, no entitled breaks at work)

[onthefencesitter]

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/truss-eyes-bonfire-of-workers-rights-to-boost-economy-3dmpf0gfg

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/bonfire-of-workers-rights-policy-likely-to-be-led-by-jacob-rees-mogg-334168/

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/liz-truss-freeze-energy-bills-b2159705.html

'Among reforms due to be examined are changes to the 48-hour working week, part of the EU working time directive implemented in the UK in 1998. It prevents workers from being discriminated against or sacked if they refuse to work over 48 hours a week.

The new government is also understood to want to look at rules on taking breaks and calculating holiday pay that guarantees most people four weeks’ holiday a year plus bank holidays.'

It has been in the press that Liz Truss will freeze the energy price cap for two years and this will be on the scale of furlough. Widely expected to cost £100 billion (if not more). My friend has a theory that she will piggy back on the goodwill of the public and win in 2024 elections. She will then take that as a mandate to axe workers' rights. my friend says British people have a zero sum approach to politics and will believe Truss when she says' we need to pay off this debt for the energy crisis; hence we need to sacrifice our holiday entitlements and pay and work longer hours to boost the economy to pay off the debt'/

YANBU- British people will swallow this hook line and sinker

YABU- No, British people love their holidays and will cling onto it for dear life despite being bailed out by the state for their energy costs.

I think you're reading into those articles and getting five when you add two and two. Reviewing policies that were from the EU doesn't mean stripping everyone of their breaks and holiday leave.

FFS let the woman get in the room before you start shouting! You weaken your case by this knee jerk reaction.

🤖 ?

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen we are right to be very suspicious of her, never trust a tory. look at where Boris has gotten us!

Well she did say British workers need more graft?
'www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/sep/03/unions-call-for-liz-truss-to-come-clean-over-plans-to-change-workers-rights

'Up for review, according to the report, is the 48-hour working week, which was adopted as part of the EU working time directive and which, under a Truss leadership, could be among the protections revoked in an effort to “make the UK more competitive”.

Her flag wavers and goons will be out in force today (same with Sunak if he wins) to manipulate social media and make it look like
she’s god who can do no wrong.

whomever wins it’s going to be dangerous for ordinary people. That others can’t see is is exactly as your friend described.

It’s wilful ignorance from a class of people who have for centuries been bred to believe their betters can do no wrong and that they have no power to effect change.

I'm getting a bit sick of all this. She hasn't even officially declared yet, let alone announced a cabinet. I'm going to give it a fortnight to see what is laid out, which seems preferable to filling in the blanks with the hyperbolic tones of a cheese dream.

Well I used to be a civil servant where they changed the contract for new staff so it was no longer m-f and was instead 5 out of 7 so they could make staff work a weekend.
so I well believe they would want to increase our hours and reduce our holiday.

but it depends how well this is reported as to whether the people it would affect most would actually hear about it and make up their mind in time to make a decision when it comes to official election votes.

I am a civil servant and haven't been asked to work at a weekend. However, as we deal with the working public, who can't always contact us during office hours, I think there is a case to be made to have the phone lines open later, and to work a Saturday morning one a month to facilitate customer contact.

The UK signed out of the European working time directive when it came into force. When labour were in power.

Are you sure? Because as far as I can tell, the Leave argument was largely built around doing away with such directives. At least, as far as the likes of Rees-Mogg and the ERG were concerned. Their elitist wet dream isn't called Singapore-on-Thames for nothing.

@GhostFromTheOtherSide the working time directive was first brought up in 1993 and voted in 11 - 1 - with the vote against being from the UK, under the Tories at the time.

It was updated in 1998, 2000 and 2003 and the UK brought the WTD into law in 1998, under a Labour government.

So you're wrong.

I don't think we did - individuals can opt out, and their employer can ask them to opt-out but the UK didn't opt out of the entire directive.

@FourTeaFallOut I'm getting a bit sick of all this. She hasn't even officially declared yet, let alone announced a cabinet. I'm going to give it a fortnight to see what is laid out, which seems preferable to filling in the blanks with the hyperbolic tones of a cheese dream.

I completely agree.

and their wet dream isn't even real. Singapore might have loose regulation but it builds state subsidized housing for all its citizens and employers have to contribute an extra 16% to their personal retirement accounts. Its also a city state and one of the top financial hubs in the world so much easier for someone to find a new job compared to someone in middlesbrough or similar.

In terms of eroding the rights of workers I doubt if anything is off the table.

And most of the electorate is stupid enough to vote for anything, however harmful, if appropriately manipulated by the right wing press. We've seen the evidence of this already.

Why do you think the Tories and the billionaires were so keen to leave the EU? Environmental and worker protections were like a straitjacket to them. Now they're free to fuck everything up as much as they want in the aim of personal profiteering.

Of course. The electorate were encouraged not to see that though.

I don't think you need to wait two weeks to see what happens. It is pretty clear from leaks to the press that this is what she wants to do to make us more competitive. Two weeks annual leave, less maternity and paternity leave (its 6 weeks in the US which is what she wants to emulate) but yet people still say they can't vote labour because of their lack of respect for women!