What has the EU done for us? It's made our workplaces fairer and more humane.

A parliamentary research briefing paper* on the potential impact of leaving the EU acknowledges that many areas of employment law "stem largely from Europe", and goes on to list them:

• annual leave
• rights of agency workers, part-time workers and fixed-term workers
• collective redundancy
• paternity, maternity and parental leave
• protection of employment upon the transfer of a business
• anti-discrimination legislation.

The paper points out that exit from Europe could "foreshadow significant change to UK employment law", suggesting that employers' associations may seek to "repeal or amend some of the more controversial EU-derived employment laws".

But, as employees, do we really want to scale back on our employment rights? Do we want to shut the door on a progressive, humane Europe-driven programme that has made a measurable, real-life improvement to the working lives of so many here in the UK? What about the people who have been able to take time off work for maternity/paternity leave without fear of losing their jobs or ending up destitute? People who have been paid the money owed to them when their employer went bust? People who have been treated fairly in the workplace where previously there was discrimination?

Surely we would all "aim to improve living conditions by promoting employment, sustainable growth and greater social cohesion". And that is exactly how the EU's policies in this area are described by EUR-Lex (the official website giving access to documents related to EU law)**.

EUR-Lex goes on to say: "The EU is a catalyst in social change, seeking to increase employment and worker mobility, improve the quality of jobs and working conditions, inform and consult workers, combat poverty and social exclusion, promote equal opportunities and combat discrimination, as well as modernise social protection systems."

Which part of that description do the out-campaigners want to turn their back on? The improved working conditions? The equal opportunities? The fight against poverty?

Sources:

*http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7213 [accessed 18 February 2016]

**http://eur-lex.europa.eu/summary/chapter/employment_and_social_policy.html [accessed 18 February 2016]