Opting Out Of The Social Charter

EDM number 377 in 1991-92, proposed by Stuart Bell on 11/12/1991.

That this House notes the acknowledgement of the Prime Minister that Her Majesty's Government did indeed opt-out of signing the social chapter deleted from the draft treaty at Maastricht on European union, the acknowledgement coming in response to an intervention by the Right honourable Member for Yeovil during the Prime Minister's statement on the floor of the House on 11th December; regrets that the citizens of the United Kingdom shall be deprived of the benefits of the promotion of employment, the improvement in living and worker conditions, proper social protection, dialogue between management and labour, the development of human resources to create lasting high employment and proposals to effect equality between men and women with regard to labour market opportunities and treatment at work, all of them included in the social charter; rejects the claim of the Prime Minister that these measures of the now deleted social chapter would cause unemployment; and calls upon the Prime Minister to sign the protocol incorporating the social charter of 1989 when the treaty on European Union is signed in early February so that there is unanimity throughout the twelve nations for the creation of a social Europe.

This motion has been signed by a total of 82 MPs.