Corbyn: 'Brexit would be disaster for workers' rights'
Ordinary Britons will face "disaster" if the country leaves the EU because the Conservatives can't be trusted to protect workers' rights, Jeremy Corbyn has warned.
He urged people to vote to stay in the union - but to push for reform.
In a speech at the Institute of Engineering Technology on Thursday, the Labour leader insisted employment entitlements have been bolstered by EU membership - and are threatened by the Tories rather than Brussels.
Mr Corbyn stated his party is "overwhelmingly for staying in" because of the investment, jobs and rights the bloc has brought, and highlighted the importance of "these gains" - though insisted "nobody is happy" with the way Europe currently operates.
Europe "can and must do more to meet the needs of its people", he said, as he argued the EU had "potential" to "do great things" and vowed that a Labour government would "make the case for reform".
He used his speech to criticise the Conservative government's record on the economy and the environment, and told supporters the Tories could not be trusted to operate without European oversight.
"[Membership] means workers throughout Europe have decent rights at work, meaning it's harder to undercut terms and conditions across Europe", he said.
To date, Mr Corbyn has refused to share a platform with Tories campaigning for the remain party, in contrast to other high profile Labour figures such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Mr Corbyn said the social chapter and other EU directives have secured 28 days of paid leave and a limit on working hours for more than 26 million employees.
Around eight million part-time workers now have equal rights with full-time colleagues and one million temporary employees have the same rights as their permanent colleagues, he added.
The Labour leader also pointed to the guaranteed maternity leave rights used by 340,000 women every year.
Mr Corbyn will say that Labour will "make the case to remain" and the "case for reform" of the bloc.
He went on to make the case for more support for refugees.
"When it comes to the refugee crisis, many European countries have made great efforts in response - whether that is taking in large numbers of people fleeing persecution, or funding refugee camps in Lebanon, Turkey, as Britain has done,"
"But collectively, as a continent, we have to be honest about it. We've failed to coordinate our efforts properly. Failed those countries like Greece and Italy which have seen desperate people land on their shores in unprecedented numbers.
"And tragically, we have failed people who desperately need and deserve our help. These are human beings, just like every one of us in this room, trying to survive a difficult and dangerous world. Let us extend the hand of humanity to them.
"We in the Labour party are determined that this failure should never be allowed to happen again."