National Policy Forum Report 2009 [antikvár]

Policy development The Britain in the World Policy Commission started the year with a successful and well-attended policy seminar at Annual Conference 2008. Delegates had the chance to meet the Foreign Secretary, the International Development Secretary and the Armed Forces Minister to discuss issues ranging from Pakistan and Russia to international trade and the situation in Sri Lanka. Following Annual Conference the Policy Commission drew up a work plan which was informed by many of the international issues raised by conference delegates. The Commission met regularly throughout the year with a range of ministers from across governmental departments to discuss these subjects. A resolution on Zimbabwe was passed at Annual Conference 2008. Consequently the Britain in the World Policy Commission decided to invite the proposer of this motion, from Liverpool Riverside, CLP to its November meeting. This meeting was also attended by a Foreign Office Minister, Gillian Merron and the director of Human Rights Watch UK. The meeting allowed the Commission to discuss the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, the role of the UK Government in relation to the crisis and future prospects for the country. In Autumn 2008 the Commission received an update from International Development Minister, Mike Foster on progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals particularly in light of the global financial crisis. As many of the submissions to the Policy Commission were concerned with international development the Commission was particularly keen to discuss this issue. The wider discussion in this meeting also touched on many issues of concern to party members, including good governance, HIV/AIDS, trade and aid transparency At the end of 2008 the Russian incursion into Georgia attracted international attention. In light of these events and the interest from party members on this issue the Commission met with the then Minister for Europe, Caroline Flint and a representative from the well-respected NGO Saferworid. The Commission also invited two NEC members, who had put forward a resolution on Georgia, to discuss their position with the Minister for Europe. The meeting raised wider issues concerning breakaway states, international security, peacekeeping and effective international institutions. The 2009 European elections had a significant impact on the Commission's work as it had responsibility for developing and approving the party's European election manifesto. Extensive discussions on the content and form of the manifesto were carried out throughout the first half of 2009 with Commission members ensuring that submissions from party members and other organisations were taken into account when developing the document. In one such discussion with the Minister for Europe Commission members discussed economic and environmental issues in addition to the role the EU can play in bringing added value to British citizens. The final manifesto reflected many of the concerns of members up and down the country. The document understandably possessed a strong focus on the economy and employment issues including acting to prevent the unfair treatment or exploitation of workers across Europe, including safety at the workplace and decent minimum standards on holidays, meal breaks and working hours. It also contained sections on the environment, equality, consumer rights, international security, immigration, European reform and the European Union's role in the world. These sections were supported with facts and examples demonstrating the benefit that Labour's engagement in Europe brings to British citizens. In the process of drafting the 2009 European manifesto the Commission discussed employment rights with particular reference to implementing the European agreement on agency workers. Another focus of these discussions was the impact of European Court of Justice judgements, including Viking, Laval and Ruffert. The European manifesto contained the commitment to implement the European agreement on agency workers to ensure that agency workers have the same basic conditions as permanent workers after 12 weeks in a given job. In relation to ECJ judgements the manifesto contained the following wording: "Labour supports the proposal by the European Commission to examine the operation of the Posted Workers Directive. Recent European Court of Justice judgements including Viking, Laval and Ruffert, have creatcd uncertainty about workers' rights and collective agreements. We support the proposal that the Social Partners at the European level should review the impact of these