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European Union (Accessions) Bill

I will leave the problem to be solved by those in government who must clarify such matters on our behalf. However, it would not have been right of me to pass on without putting the matter on record so that they can puzzle over it or refute it either during the debate, or in the future. The freedom of movement for workers, which is addressed in clause 2, is a fundamental aspect of what we are doing. If I am reading the Bill correctly, we will allow people from accession countries such as Romania and Bulgaria to come to the United Kingdom to work if they have an offer of employment. It has already been said that some 230,000 people have already come here to work and are thus contributing and paying taxation. Neither Labour nor Opposition Members can shy away from the challenges presented by the matter. Labour Members should not over-applaud the initiative and Conservative Members should not be afraid of some of the proposals. There is a problem with exploitation. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North said that we should not allow people who come into the European Union to be seen as second-class workers and second-class citizens who deserve only second-class conditions and wages. I am worried that some people who have come here from the 10 accession countries in the last enlargement have already been exploited, even though they might be happy to get our minimum wage when they compare that with what they could earn in their own countries. However, we must consider the scenario that occurred involving a group of workers from one of the original 15 member countries. They were bused into a work place and kept in isolation from trade unions in this country. They were doing highly skilled work in a power station in Wales, but the unions could not discover their wages or conditions of service. They were working under the posting of workers directive, which will obviously apply to workers addressed by clause 2 because, when they come here to work, they should be covered by EU directives. If the posting of workers directive means that we will not know whether such workers who come to this country enjoy proper conditions because they do not have access to trade unions in either their country of origin or here, something is wrong, given that there is a pledge—I believe that it was made when Mrs. Thatcher signed the Single European Act—that every citizen in Europe should be treated equally. Unless we introduce safeguards, people who come here might not enjoy the same quality, class or status of citizenship as people in the UK. Indeed, they could be seen by many as people who are available for exploitation. The trade unions must meet that challenge.