Treaty is not a threat to workers’ rights

THE scattergun attack by Michael O’Driscoll on all and sundry on the EU and workers’ rights entirely misses the target (Letters, August 10).

The Lisbon Treaty does not undermine workers’ rights. Neither does it threaten our valued public services. It does precisely the opposite.

John Monks of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), who is quoted by Mr O’Driscoll, addressed the ICTU congress in Tralee last month and told Irish trade unionists that ETUC strongly supported ratification of the Lisbon Treaty because it represented a step forward on existing provisions in relation to the legal enforcement of the charter of fundamental rights, the commitment to full employment, the social market economy and public services. The treaty is seen by ETUC as the springboard for a more ambitious programme of social progress.