Businesses ‘risking social rights’

GLOBAL business interests are jeopardising social rights, SIPTU’s biannual conference in Galway heard yesterday.

SIPTU researcher John McCartney told delegates that far too many government decisions in Europe were being made on the basis of what is good for companies rather than what would be in the interests of society and its citizens.

“Multi-nationals are using their clout to get national governments to try and minimise the effect of EU legislation,” he said. “It is compromising the ability of social Europe to make directives stick at national level,” Mr McCartney said.

The concept behind the European social model is widely credited for benefiting employees across the union.

In Ireland, for example, a raft of EU workplace and employee directives has resulted in domestic legislation, including the Organisation of Work Time Act and the Parental Leave Act, which is of considerable benefit to employees.

However, according to Mr McCartney, such developments and the emergence of further positive European social policies are now in jeopardy as member nations join the rush to reduce taxes in a bid to attract international investment.

Introducing a delegates workshop on the issue at yesterday’s conference, Mr McCartney pointed to the contradictions between European social and financial policy.

“It is worrying to find that the influence of multinationals is becoming more powerful every day as countries compete to attract inward investment and fall over themselves to reduce corporation taxes,” he said.

That in turn would likely lead to an erosion in the Government’s tax take and a knock-on effect on the amount of money available to provide adequate public services.

“It is an inescapable conclusion that if we lower corporation taxes below a critical level we will have to pay for this in terms of lower quality public services,” Mr McCartney said.

Calling for a strong European constitution based on social rights to protect society from governments pandering to multinationals, Mr McCartney referred to several complaints taken to Europe by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions after Ireland delayed the implementation of European directives. He accused the Government of acting in a cynical and begrudging manner.

“It’s really telling that the Government would endure the humiliation of a complaint upheld by the EU rather than go along with the directive,” he said.