Duff says protectionism will kill the economy stone dead

7.00.00pm GMT Mon 2nd Feb 2009

Reacting to the outbreak of wildcat strikes in the UK, East of England's Euro MP and leader of the Lib Dem MEPs, Andrew Duff warns that a retreat to nationalist protectionism will ruin the British economy. In a statement from Strasbourg today, Duff said:

"I have great sympathy for those who fear for their jobs in the Lindsey oil refinery dispute. But first we should establish the facts of the matter to determine whether this is or is not a case of social dumping. Certainly Gordon Brown should stop spinning about the virtues of globalisation in Davos and get down to Lincolnshire to explain the risks to the British economy of nationalist protectionism and, worse, xenophobia.

"The free movement of workers has been a great boon to the British economy. About one million EU migrant workers are currently in the UK and about two million British people are now working elsewhere in the EU. The fact that UK law does not recognise collective bargaining as mandatory is a complicating factor in this case, as it was in the controversial European Court judgments about a Swedish firm employing cheaper Estonian labour.

"Perhaps something should be done at UK level to clarify its labour laws, which are in any case binding on Total, and to review the implementation of the posted working directive. The EU is not the cause of the problem, although a revision of the posted workers directive may be in order, in the light of the ECJ case law, to toughen up against social dumping. The Treaty of Lisbon will help to further develop the social dimension of the internal market. Certain leftwing Labour MEPs

and trade unions have called for a new 'social clause' to be added to the Treaty. That is nonsense: it is not needed. The Charter of Fundamental Rights which Lisbon makes binding even in the UK (despite the 'red lines' of Blair and Brown) will apply to the implementation of

the posted workers directive."

ENDS