PARLIAMENTARY COLUMN

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2016 :: RMTnews “The desire to improve the lives of working people is why I remain absolutely against the Common Market, the ultimate Capitalist Club.” “My objection in principle to the European project is about its implementation of the free movement of capital and labour, the undiluted capitalism at the heart of the Common Market project. Employers undermine wages and employment conditions, shifting production to lowest cost countries.. the movement of capital drags labour with it.” “I’ve never given up the fight against a capitalist club. I’ve voted against all the major pieces of European legislation. “I opposed Maastricht when John Major was the tenant in number 10 and the Treaties of Niece, Amsterdam and Lisbon when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown got their feet under the table in Downing Street. I support a referendum now and I’d vote to quit.” Dennis Skinner MP from Sailing close to the Wind, 2014 “I am against the Treaty of Rome which entrenches laissez faire as its philosophy and chooses bureaucracy as its administrative method.” “Britain's continuing membership of the Community would mean the end of Britain as a completely self-governing nation and the end of our democratically elected Parliament as the supreme law making body in the United Kingdom.” “The power of electors over their law- makers has gone, the power of MPs over Ministers has gone, the role of Ministers has changed. The real case for entry has never been spelled out, which is that there should be a fully federal Europe in which we become a province. It hasn't been spelled out because people would never accept it.” “I am an old parliamentary hand — perhaps I have been here too long — but I was brought up to believe, and I still believe, that when people vote in an election they must be entitled to know that the party for which they vote, if it has a majority, will be able to enact laws under which they will be governed. That is no longer true. Any party elected, whether it is the Conservative party or the Labour party can no longer say to the electorate, "Vote for me and if I have a majority I shall pass that law", because if that law is contrary to Common Market law, British judges will apply Common Market law.” If democracy is destroyed in Britain it will be not the communists, Trotskyists or subversives but this House which threw it away. The rights that are entrusted to us are not for us to give away…” The Late Tony Benn, various. BENN AND SKINNER SAY... 9 Parliamentary column security of income for the union and RMT no longer has to wait for the employer to tell it who has paid and how much has been collected • It removes the ability of the employer to use the withdrawal of check-off as a weapon against the union RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that despite the welcome reversals in the Trade Union Bill the union has recognised that the threat to its income stream remains. “It is in our hands to remove this completely and have started this campaign encouraging members to switch to DD. “Having employers play any part in collecting our money is no longer necessary,” he said. To help members switch, RMT intends to make the process as easy as possible and will soon be contacting every member involved directly inviting them to make the move. All that will be required is the completion of a Direct Debit instruction form, which will be returned to HO for processing. Members will have complete control over when the DD comes out of their account. Whether it is four weekly or monthly, the decision on what date it will apply will be yours. The only change you will see is the method of payment, everything else stays the same. The benefits of switching are substantial to both the union and the individual member. It gives total control of payment to the only people who need to be involved, the individual member and the union. No more middle men, no need to pay them. One simple step can forever remove the spectre of withdrawing the check off facility and keeps us in control of our income. The message is simple Don’t delay, Switch today. In anticipation of the forthcoming EU referendum we dedicate this edition of the Parliamentary Column to some thoughts on the subject by two parliamentary and Labour movement greats- Dennis Skinner MP and the late Tony Benn.