The Deputy raised a similar point during a recent debate. The British Prime Minister, John Major, told other EU member states that they could have social legislation while Britain would have the jobs. I do not believe this will be the case. The UK has decided to opt out of some sections of the Social Charter for domestic political reasons. This directive comes under the health and safety remit but the UK says that it should not come under this remit. While the UK has cited domestic political considerations as the reason for opting out of some areas of the Social Charter the reality is different.
A report in one of this morning's English newspapers states that the level of pay of UK workers is way below that of workers in southern Italy and that the productivity of UK workers is one of the lowest in Europe. Motivated employees, buttressed by proper social legislation which includes training, are much more likely to be productive and competitive than workers who are underpaid.
The UK has decided to opt out of certain sections of the Social Charter for its own reasons. I do not regard this as a threat as the level of productivity of Irish workers is much higher than that of their English counterparts. The level of productivity in the UK has been steadily decreasing in recent years.