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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/09/tuc-to-back-brexit-deal-vote-if-may-doesnt-protect-workers-rights
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| TUC says it will back second referendum if Brexit deal fails workers | TUC says it will back second referendum if Brexit deal fails workers |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Trades Union Congress is prepared to campaign for a referendum on a Brexit deal unless Theresa May returns with a good deal for British workers, the organisation’s general secretary said on Sunday. | The Trades Union Congress is prepared to campaign for a referendum on a Brexit deal unless Theresa May returns with a good deal for British workers, the organisation’s general secretary said on Sunday. |
| Frances O’Grady said that unless the prime minister returned with a deal which protects jobs and workers’ rights, the umbrella organisation for the UK’s unions would support the People’s Vote campaign. | |
| Her comments came as union delegates gathered in Manchester for the annual TUC conference, where Brexit will be debated on Monday, and two weeks before the Labour party conference in Liverpool, where delegates are expected to debate and vote on Brexit policy. | |
| There has been mounting pressure and a national campaign over the summer for a second referendum on the final Brexit deal. | |
| O’Grady told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I want to serve notice to the prime minister today that if we don’t get the deal that working people need, the TUC will be throwing our full weight behind the campaign for a popular vote so that people get a say on whether that deal is good enough. | |
| “I am a trade unionist. There is no way that a trade union would negotiate a deal and not go back to their members,” she said. | |
| “People don’t trust politicians. They are really worried about what Brexit means for their jobs, their communities and their wage packets with prices going up too. So it is only right that people can have a say. | |
| “If the prime minister can’t get a deal that meets our needs, then we will be campaigning for a popular vote.” | |
| O’Grady called for the prime minister to seek an immediate extension so she could attempt to negotiate a deal that would protect the rights and jobs of UK workers. | O’Grady called for the prime minister to seek an immediate extension so she could attempt to negotiate a deal that would protect the rights and jobs of UK workers. |
| “We have been very clear that the PM should protect jobs, protect workers’ rights and [deliver] no hard border in Northern Ireland. | “We have been very clear that the PM should protect jobs, protect workers’ rights and [deliver] no hard border in Northern Ireland. |
| “Time is running out and crashing out of the EU would be an absolute disaster for the people we represent. | “Time is running out and crashing out of the EU would be an absolute disaster for the people we represent. |
| “What the PM should be doing is seeking an extension on article 50 so we don’t crash out in March,” she said. | “What the PM should be doing is seeking an extension on article 50 so we don’t crash out in March,” she said. |
| Asked for her message for Jeremy Corbyn, who has said that Labour does not yet have a policy on a popular vote, and to address fears that a second referendum could lead to social unrest, O’Grady said: “I think Labour have left all options on the table. The difference with Labour is they have said they want to put jobs first. | Asked for her message for Jeremy Corbyn, who has said that Labour does not yet have a policy on a popular vote, and to address fears that a second referendum could lead to social unrest, O’Grady said: “I think Labour have left all options on the table. The difference with Labour is they have said they want to put jobs first. |
| “We are not talking about unravelling that vote, we are talking about a vote on the deal. Ordinary people should get a vote on the terms of that deal.” | “We are not talking about unravelling that vote, we are talking about a vote on the deal. Ordinary people should get a vote on the terms of that deal.” |
| Last week, the GMB union’s head, Tim Roache, called for a vote on the final deal, unless a general election is called beforehand. | |
| The GMB is one of the three big unions – alongside Unison and Unite – that exercise the greatest influence over Labour, in part because of its funding to the party. It is the first to call for a referendum so explicitly. | The GMB is one of the three big unions – alongside Unison and Unite – that exercise the greatest influence over Labour, in part because of its funding to the party. It is the first to call for a referendum so explicitly. |
| Unite, whose general secretary, Len McCluskey, is a strong backer of the Labour leadership, passed a motion at its policy conference in July supporting the possibility of a popular vote on Brexit. | Unite, whose general secretary, Len McCluskey, is a strong backer of the Labour leadership, passed a motion at its policy conference in July supporting the possibility of a popular vote on Brexit. |
| A poll in the Observer disclosed that members of Britain’s three biggest trade unions now support a new referendum on Brexit by a margin of more than two to one. | A poll in the Observer disclosed that members of Britain’s three biggest trade unions now support a new referendum on Brexit by a margin of more than two to one. |
| The survey of more than 2,700 members of Unite, Unison and the GMB by YouGov, for the People’s Vote campaign, also found that a clear majority of members of the three unions now back staying in the EU, believing Brexit will be bad for jobs and living standards. | The survey of more than 2,700 members of Unite, Unison and the GMB by YouGov, for the People’s Vote campaign, also found that a clear majority of members of the three unions now back staying in the EU, believing Brexit will be bad for jobs and living standards. |
| In an interview with the Observer before the poll findings were released, the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said his preferred option was still for voters to be offered a say on the government’s handling of Brexit – and any deal brought back from Brussels by May – in a general election. But he said that if Labour was unable to force one in the coming months, he wanted to “keep all options open”, including supporting a new referendum. | |
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| Trade unions | Trade unions |
| Brexit | Brexit |
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