Employment rights could be at risk if Britain leaves the European Union, the head of the conciliation service has warned.
Acas chairman Sir Brendan Barber said people should not forget how workers in this country had benefited from measures introduced through the Social Chapter.
He told the annual conference of the GMB union, in Dublin, paternity leave, equal treatment of part-timers, rights for agency and temporary staff as well as the principle of equal pay had all been underpinned by Europe.
He warned they could be at risk as a result of the in/out referendum promised by the Prime Minister.
Sir Brendan, former leader of the TUC, added the Government's plans to introduce a threshold for strike ballots, would be “hugely controversial”.
He also told the 500 delegates that the UK’s productivity performance was “depressing”, lagging 19 per cent behind other G7 countries.
“It is our productivity that will ultimately determine the drive towards higher wages and living standards so desperately needed.”