Green Senator calls for EU action on workers' rights

GREEN PARTY Senator Deirdre de Burca has called on the Government to prioritise workers' rights at the European summit in Brussels next week.

She added that a commitment could be sought from EU leaders to add a social progress clause or protocol to a future EU treaty.

"This would require that treaty provisions be interpreted as respecting fundamental rights, especially trade union rights to freedom of association, collective bargaining and collective action," said Ms de Burca who is her party's Dublin candidate in the European elections.

"This would guarantee that when a conflict between fundamental market freedoms and workers' rights occurs, the rights of workers would be given priority in the interest of facilitating the development of the social market economy," she added.

"I am concerned about the fact that most of the informal discussions between the Government and our partners to date have focused on the issues of taxation, the commissioner, neutrality and sensitive social issues," Ms de Burca said.

"The issue of workers' rights has not appeared to feature in these discussions, even though this was a major area of concern for trade unions and many workers in this country."

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times