Scottish Trade Union Movement Edging Toward Brexit Support

Glasgow Trades Union Council may consider voicing its support for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union over the bloc's role in promoting TTIP deal and the UK's austerity policies.

DUNDEE (Sputnik) — Glasgow Trades Union Council may consider voicing its support for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union over the bloc's role in promoting the EU-US Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal and the UK's austerity policies, the organization’s Chairwoman Jennifer McCarey told Sputnik on Monday.

"We are moving towards considering support for Brexit. The purpose of the debate [on exiting the bloc] is to highlight the democratic deficit that has existed for some time within the EU and we think that might be exaggerated by TTIP," McCarey said.

"We also have concerns about the role of Europe in the anti-austerity agenda and those concerns are shared across the trade union movement," she pointed out.

UK citizens are set to vote on June 23 in a referendum on the country's EU membership, after Prime Minister David Cameron and the leaders of the 27 European Union member states reached a deal in February to grant the United Kingdom a special status within the bloc.

TTIP is a proposed free-trade deal between the European Union and the United States. The agreement has been criticized for its unusual secrecy and is opposed by many Europeans who claim that the pact would undermine standards and regulations on environmental protection, health and safety, as well as workers’ rights, among other points.

The 13th round of EU-US talks on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership kicks off in New York on April 25.