UNISON delegates in Brighton today condemned the government’s intention to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a “British Bill of Rights”.
Shami Chakrabarti, the former director of human rights organisation Liberty, has referred to the proposal as “the gravest threat to freedom in Britain since the Second World War.”
It is feared that some existing rights, such as the right to privacy, could become limited or scrapped altogether.
The conference motion states that, like the Trade Union Act, such legislation would represent “an ideological attack on our rights and freedoms.
“Workers’ rights and human rights are inseparable,” it adds. “We had to fight to win them, and now we must fight to defend them.”
Delegates approved the motion, which calls on the NEC to campaign – and support Liberty’s campaign – to defend the Human Rights Act against repeal.
