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Party political conferences
(Photos of Liverpool Manchester Birmingham)
The NASUWT’s exhibition stand was once again a popular draw at the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative party political conferences. The Union participated in a number of fringe meetings to engage delegates and to promote the Union’s campaign to protect state education and wider public services at a time of financial struggle and spending cuts.
The NASUWT hosted the following fringes:
• Does Local Government have a role in public services?
• England’s schools: Free for all?
The NASUWT also had representatives speaking at fringes hosted by Unions 21:
• Is there room in the Coalition for trade unions?
• Fair Pensions For All
Is there room in the Coalition for unions?
At the Liberal Democrat Conference, Dr Patrick Roach [below], Deputy General Secretary of the NASUWT, highlighted the huge gains made in recruitment, retention and workforce morale as a result of the Labour Government’s commitment to working in social partnership with the NASUWT and other workforce unions. “Let’s learn some lessons from history,” Mr Roach urged. “Let’s recognise that the interests of the workforce are common to the interests of the electorate.
“The users of public services want a public sector workforce that is resourced and supported to provide the best service for them. We agree that we are all in this together, which is why it is imperative that the Government works constructively together with unions to continue to raise standards across the public sector.”
In a similar discussion, Chris Weavers, the NASUWT’s Parliamentary and Trade Union Liaison Officer, added: “Free and active trade unions are a key indicator of a healthy democracy. Far too often trade unions are characterised as only acting in the vested interests of their members but unions are the sum of the collective will of millions of workers and that has to be and should be valued by the Government.”
Fair Pensions For All
Focusing on the Government-commissioned Hutton review of public sector pensions, NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates [right] told the Labour Conference that pension schemes had been subject to revisions designed to ensure their future affordability under the Labour Government and that the union movement must do all it can to bust the myth of ‘gold-plated’ public sector pensions.
She said: “The public must be educated that the real cost to the taxpayer is not public sector pensions but private sector employees who fail to make any pension provision for their workers. It is this dereliction of duty that is the real disgrace and the question the public should be faced with is not, can we afford public sector pensions, but what is the price of dignity in old age for those who give so much to the country?”
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