UK's TUC, CBI make joint call on Brexit citizenship deal
The UK's main business and trade union groups made a rare joint statement on Thursday, calling for “urgent” action guaranteeing citizens' rights after Britain leaves the EU in march 2019.
Confederation of British Industry chief Carolyn Fairbairn and Trades Union Congress general secretary Frances O’Grady urged both sides to make sure rights would be protected even if Brexit talks resulted in no deal.
“After 15 months of human poker, the uncertainty facing 4 million European and UK citizens has become intolerable,” they said.
“It is a blight on the values of our nations. Millions of workers and thousands of firms are today united in their call to leaders on both sides to find an urgent solution. A clear guarantee of the right to remain for citizens in both the UK and EU27 is needed within weeks.”
The two made their call as the fourth round of negotiations between the EU and UK finished. Both sides said some progress had been made on the issue.
Fairbairn and O'Grady said EU citizens accounted for 10% of registered doctors and 4% of registered nurses across the UK.
“They need to hear that they will be allowed to remain in the UK, whatever the eventual outcome of negotiations. Not only is this important for our economy, it is the right thing to do," the duo said.
“Once agreed, this guarantee must be implemented independently of the rest of the negotiations to avoid the risk that ‘no deal’ in March 2019 leads to uncertainty and heartache for millions of people.”