Safe, healthy food and high-quality jobs

Brexit:Unite demandsprotections forworkers in Food, Drink andAgriculture

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Whether you voted Remain or Leave,Unite wants a Brexit deal that works foryou as a union member in the food,drink and agriculture (FDA) sector.

More than 100,000 Unite members work in theFDA sector, with thousands more in sectorslinked to the food chain, such as logistics. FDA isone of the Unite sectors most affected by Brexit.Much of the food that the UK imports comesfrom the EU, which is also our most importantexport market. Farming receives more than £3billion a year in subsidies from the EU. Thesector’s workforce includes migrant workersfrom both inside and outside the EU, and manyare Unite members.

Major FDA employers include companies basedin Europe. EU regulations cover food safety,food hygiene, health and safety, animal welfareand the environment, as well as the rights ofworkers.

Unite has a positive plan for Brexit in FDA,and it builds on our values of decent work, fairpay and strong working rights.

As well as Unite’s demands for Brexit, our FDAsector has a set of priorities that build on theFDA strategy, From Plough to Plate*. Brexit hasmade these more urgent.

* You can get a copy of From Plough to Plate from your regionaloffice, or from the Food, Drink and Agriculture section onwww.unitetheunion.org, and logging in as a member.

Brexit: Unite demands protections for

We won’t pay for Brexit – it doesn’t meanattacks on our jobs, rights and communities.

Keeping our rightsUnite will fight to keep all your rights at work– the long list of rights that are built onEuropean law – such as health and safety atwork and family-friendly rights - must bekept, and be built on for the future, byscrapping the ‘Swedish Derogation’ thatmakes working life harder for agency workers,and by improving rights for workers and theirtrade unions.

Access to the Single MarketTo defend jobs, the UK needs tariff-freeaccess to the Single Market. Adding extracosts to imports and exports in food andagriculture could finish off whole sectors.Thousands of jobs are at stake over this pointand Unite will fight for what’s best formembers.

A seat at the table for workersMillions of working people must have their sayon the Brexit talks through their trade unions.

Industrial strategy for the best futureafter BrexitThe government could support a positivepost-Brexit economy, if it had an ambitiousindustrial strategy. Unite wants to seeapprenticeships to fill a gap in skills, the publicsector committed to buying British to supportmanufacturing, help to reverse offshoring andbring jobs back, and direct support for UK-based steel and energy.

Unite’s demandsfor Brexit

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Nobody knows how long the Brexitnegotiations will take or what theoutcome will be. One thing is certain.Unite will defend our members. Together we will campaign to protectjobs, pay and conditions.

Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary

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Employers have told Unite members and repsthat rights at work based on EU law no longerapply.

This is not the case, and Unite will fight backagainst employers who try this on.

Unite is demanding that workplace lawsunderpinned by EU law are kept after Brexit.

Employers are also taking advantage of theuncertainty by saying they can’t do pay deals, willshut sites or move jobs abroad. But many willhave made these plans months or even yearsbefore Brexit. Unite will challenge those usingBrexit as a smokescreen. To end the uncertaintyUnite is calling for access to the Single Market –trade without tariffs – to be central to Brexit talks.

In the meantime, nothing changes. That includeslaws on your rights at work.

Your rights at workEuropean Works Council (EWC)If you sit on an EWC or Social Dialogue projectyou cannot be excluded while the UK remains amember of the EU.

Legal rulings Your employer cannot opt out of EU legal rulingswhile the UK remains a member of the EU. Thisincludes the ruling that protects holiday pay – itis still in effect.

LawsYour employer cannot say that legislation basedon EU legislation no longer applies to UK workers,e.g.Working Time Directive, Agency WorkerDirective, Part-time Workers Directive, EqualTreatment Directive, and directives on health andsafety.

for you in Food, Drink and AgricultureEven before the government triggered Article 50 to start the Brexit process, employers,particularly in FDA, were taking advantage of the post-referendum uncertainty.

We Won't Pay for ‘Brexit’:Exiting theEU must not result in a renewed attackon our jobs, rights and communities.

• Protections for you: There must be noattacks on our rights at work and theright to remain for all EU citizens livingin the UK and UK citizens abroad mustbe protected.

• An Ambitious Industrial Strategy: Theonly way to mitigate the impact of Brexitis with an ambitious industrial strategy,covering all sectors and using all optionsat the government’s disposal

• World class public services: We mustcontinue to have well-funded andproperly resourced public services, withlong term investment, sustainableinfrastructure and continuedcollaboration and research on health,education, our environment and ourcommunities.

• Access to the Single Market: Tariff-free access to the Single Market is vitalto defend jobs. Such access will allow usto retain the best of the EU, whilecommitting to a much needed industrialstrategy.

A Seat at the Table for Workers: Thecollective voice of millions of workingpeople must be central to thenegotiations.

Brexit on our TermsWe must make sure Britain retains the best ofthe EU, while putting trade union values at thecentre of Post-Brexit Britain.

Our agenda calls for investment ininfrastructure, proper jobs, decent pay andstrong working rights at its heart.

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The impact of Brexit on our sector ismostly being ignored by the government,even though millions of jobs depend on it.

Unite is the trade union representing workers alongthe food chain. The union is demanding that thecollective voice of workers is central to Brexitnegotiations. That goes in particular for ourmembers in FDA as the food chain is so exposed tothe changes that Brexit may bring. Unite wantscontinued protection for our members at work andfor the safety of food. Our members and consumersshouldn’t pay the price for Brexit in lost jobs, worsepay and conditions, and less safe food imports.

Defending our members’ jobs

Unite will use its collective voice with employersand with government to defend the jobs of ourmembers in FDA. The industry is the biggest sectorin UK manufacturing. Around 80% of FDAbusinesses are SMEs, (small and medium-sizedbusinesses with fewer than 250 employees). Soevery community in the UK has food, drink andagriculture businesses, with local jobs at stake.

Brexit must not be used as an excuse by globalcompanies to wind down their UK sites and to moveall production out of the country. Equally, thegovernment must not use the FDA sector as abargaining chip, trading off its future to win specialtreatment for other sectors.

Keep protections for workers, consumersand the environment

EU legislation underpins a wide range of workers’rights. These include on working time, equal pay,health and safety, discrimination, TUPE, equaltreatment for part-time, fixed-term and agencyworkers, information and consultation rights, paidholiday, maternity and parental leave.

A stronger voice for Food, Dri

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All of us in FDA know Brexit will seriouslyaffect not just our industry but everyaspect of the food chain. That is why Uniteis fighting to protect jobs and a safe andhealthy food system.

Steve Leniec and Mark Pryor, joint chairs, FDA national committee

Our members and their families deservebetter than a Brexit-led race to the bottom.Unite demands a Brexit for the food industrythat secures the livelihoods of millions

Julia Long, FDA national officer

Unite will be campaigning hard for a Brexit deal that ensure

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rink and AgricultureEU legislation also affects the UK food system in anumber of important ways. EU directives on waterand the environment protect natural resources,which food and farming depend on. Food safety inthe UK is supported by a legal framework based onEU laws, protecting consumers and keeping theirconfidence in food high.

In our strategy document, From Plough to Plate,Unite’s FDA sector argues for a food system thatprovides safe and healthy food in a sustainable way,with decent work and strong workers’ rights. The EUhas not been perfect and could be much stronger,but the protections of the UK food system in EUlegislation support our goals. We are backing callsby environmental and consumer groups for existingEU regulations to be banked for now, and used as abaseline for stronger future protection.

Investment in skills

FDA’s strategy on skills has been for moreinvestment in training at all levels, not just graduatelevel, so that the industry becomes a high-skillsindustry with higher-paid workers. Increasedautomation means some unskilled and lower-skilledjobs are being lost, but may mean more demand forskilled workers. Brexit and the fall in the value of thepound means EU migrants have been leaving theUK to find better-paid work elsewhere and to escapeanti-migrant racism. This is leading to labourshortages.

So Brexit has made our call for both immediate andlong-term investment in skills more urgent. Wewant investment in training for the jobs of thefuture, including upskilling the existing workforce,and apprenticeships for young people – with aproper rate of pay – to attract them into theindustry, and these opportunities need to be open toall. The UK needs a food industry with a stable long-term future that is built on well-paid, secureemployment, and more investment in skills andtraining is the only way to achieve that.

A food system for the future

Food, drink and agriculture is too important to beused as a bargaining chip by a Tory governmentwho would like to see the UK become a low-tax, low-regulation regime off the coast of Europe. Howeverpeople voted, they didn’t vote for the Tory vision ofBrexit which risks the safety and security of ourfood supply for a long time to come.

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Now is the time for all in Food Drink &Agriculture to stand together for safe healthyfood and high quality jobs.We need skills,safety, no discrimination, decent rights andstandards for the food we eat and the workerswho produce and distribute it. One bigalliance from Plough to Plate!

Diana Holland, AGS

sures safe, healthy food and high-quality jobs in the sector.

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The food and drink sector is worth £26.9bnto the UK economy and it is also a majoremployer in every part of the UK.

The challenges from Brexit to the FDA sector inparticular are clear. A high level of exports andimports, including ‘components’ for food and drinkgoods produced in the UK, would be very hard-hitby a version of Brexit that led to extra customschecks at borders, and high new tariffs. Many UK-based companies depend heavily on EU migrantworkers, without which their future in the UK is inquestion. Unite wants to see a Brexit that is honestabout what the food sector needs, and solutionsthat safeguard the jobs of all our members.

• Around 850,000 people work in agriculture,fishing and food and drink manufacturing, whileelsewhere in the supply chain, wholesale, retailand catering employs 3 million workers.

• Exports of food, drink and agricultural productsare vital to the UK economy, with more than twothirds of them going to the EU.

• Exports of food and non-alcoholic drinks havedoubled in 10 years, and total global exports,including alcohol, were £18bn in 2015.

• Imports are also vital to the UK, especially freshproduce – we import around £5bn of fresh fruitand vegetables each year, for example.

• Food manufacturers in the UK rely on importsof raw ingredients for products. Around 70% offood and drink imports come from the EU.

• The FDA sector has relied more on EU workersthan any other UK industrial sector:

m around 29% of the food and drinkmanufacturing workforce are non-UK EUnationals

m about 80,000 work in horticulture

m more than 90% of the vets in the meathygiene sector are from the EU

The factsBrexit and Food, Drink and Agriculture

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“The problem is not cheap labour in Britain –it’s cheap labour anywhere.

Anyone who has had to negotiate for workers,in manufacturing in particular, knows thehuge difficulties that have been caused by theability of capital to move production aroundthe world in search of far lower labour costsand higher profits. Supply and demandaffects the sale of labour too, pitting workeragainst worker.”

Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary

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Safeguards Against Exploitation : Labour rights and migrant workersUnite works for all our members, however theyvoted in Brexit and whatever their country oforigin. We know that over the years employershave used any difference between one group ofworkers and another – men and women, agencyand permanent, young and old, race and differentethnicities, migrant workers – as a chance to payless and try to drive a wedge between them.Whether it’s between women and men, agencyand permanent, young and old, workers ofdifferent ethnicity, or workers who’ve migrated tothe UK, these employers use ‘divide and rule’ torun a race to the bottom on pay and conditions.

So with Brexit and the future for migrantworkers, Unite’s response is very clear. No todivide and rule, no to a race to the bottom, yes to

a rate for the job. We will fight for strongcollective bargaining rights so that unions arefree to negotiate pay and conditions for allworkers. Employers can recruit from outside theUK only with a trade union agreement or if theyare covered by collective bargaining for theirindustrial sector.

We support all our members, and we will carryon supporting them wherever they work afterBrexit, whether it’s the rights of UK workers inthe EU, or the rights of EU workers in the UK.

The Brexit vote highlighted a divided nation,including in the workplace. Keeping workplacesdivided helps the Tories and employers to keepall of us down. Solidarity, not hatred

Q) How can workers’ rights be protected?A. From equal pay to the Working Time Directive, EUlaws have underpinned many rights that tradeunions have fought for. UK law must retain thesecompletely from the moment that Brexit takes effect.As Unite, we must build our workplace strength todemand that employers pledge to retain all rights,terms and conditions, including access to EuropeanWorks Councils.

Q) Why is access to the Single Marketimportant for FDA?

A. Two-thirds of FDA exports go to the EU, and 70%of imports come from the EU. These goods canmove with minimum hold-ups at customs, becausethe UK is part of the EU. A Brexit deal without thisaccess means goods could be held up at borders – amajor problem for perishable foods.

Q) What about ‘Hard Brexit’?A. No deal with the EU would mean a ‘Hard Brexit’.The UK would have to fall back on World TradeOrganisation rules, which would include tariffs. Hightariffs on imports would push up prices and a highercost of living will hit our members hard. High tariffswould make some UK exports too expensive and

uncompetitive, meaning some businesses wouldclose. Unite’s campaign to keep access to the SingleMarket and to keep trade tariff-free is essential todefend jobs.

Q) What alternatives are there to EUmembership?

A. Unite analysis shows that none of these models tofull EU membership, such as the ‘Norwegian’ option,are suitable for the UK. Tariff-free access to theSingle Market must be secured, allowing agovernment with the political will to keep all that ispositive about the EU, while also retaining the rightto intervene directly in support of our industries.

As the government’s cowardice to confront the steelcrisis shows, state intervention is a question ofpolitical will. It is Unite’s job to pile on the politicalpressure to make sure that will is exercised. Any newfree trade deals must not be based on the failedmodels of TTIP or CETA. Workers’ rights must beguaranteed, there must be no ISDS secret courts,which let companies sue national governments forallegedly discriminating against their business; andthere must be strong trade defence mechanisms toprevent the illegal dumping in the UK of goods ormaterials from other countries.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Brexit: next stepsThe real power of our union is our strengthin the workplace. We must organise to usethis strength to protect our members fromthe impact of Brexit

So as a union our next steps on Brexit include:

• Unite will be lobbying the governments ofWestminster and the devolved countries tomake sure our collective voice is heard.

• We are part of an international labourmovement, and our response to Brexit includesworking with trade unionists around the world.For the Food, Drink and Agriculture sector thisincludes linking up with European trade unionsthrough our affiliation to EFFAT and globallythrough the International Union of Foodworkers(IUF).

• Discussing the impact of Brexit at your nextunion branch meeting can help a campaign foryour employer to publicly pledge to retain allworkers’ rights, standards and protections.

Brexit must not be something our union simplywatches from the sidelines. We have a unique roleto play in protecting and advancing the interests ofour members.

Brexit CheckUnite has launched a new ‘Brexit Check’

website to monitor the impact of Brexit andprovide the resources you need for your

workplace.

Visit Unite’s new ‘Brexit Check’ website formore information

Visit www.brexitcheck.org

Not yet a member of Unite? Join today: www.unitetheunion.org/joinwww.unitetheunion.org @unitetheunion

Defend your workplace:Make your voice heard Our strength as a trade union comes from ourorganisation in the workplace. It is vital that we usethis strength to protect our members from thepossible impact of Brexit.

You have the right to disclosure. Demand that youremployer shares information about their plannedresponse to Brexit, including plans for futureinvestment.

If you have pay talks or other negotiations planned,demand that your employer publicly pledges toretain all working rights, terms and conditions,including access to European Works Councils. Can you organise a branch or workplace meeting todiscuss the impact of Brexit at work and how toorganise our response?

Brexit on our terms As a Unite member in FDA, the future of Brexit has aspecial impact on you. Whether ‘hard’ or ‘soft’, Brexitwill affect food safety, supply chains, inflation, payand conditions, and the future of thousands of jobs.

Unite wants a Brexit on our terms, not the Tories’terms. They had no plans for Brexit, and their currentvision offers a bleak future for workers.

Our terms are:

• A clear industrial strategy • Training for a high-skill, high-pay food industry • Keeping laws on food safety• Union rights so we can defend pay and conditions. And protection for UK food jobs against disappearingoverseas as companies dodge higher costs from aTory-led hard Brexit. Unite’s positive plan for Brexitbuilds on our values of decent work, fair pay andstrong working rights.

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