tuc news in brief...


AIMING FOR WINS IN AUTOMATION RACE Unions must play a vital role in negotiating over workplace changes resulting from automation, according to delegates Congress called on the TUC’s general council to bring together unions whose members are most affected, advise on retraining and redeployment, and explore opportunities that may be created, such as a shorter working week.


NATIONALISE RAIL AND FUND IT FULLY In a year of rail chaos and failures, the TUC reiterated its support for rail nationalisation and agreed to campaign for properly funded, integrated, publicly owned rail and tube networks. It sent a message of solidarity to workers taking action over safety and keeping guards on trains.


CAMPAIGN TO BACK LOW-PAID WORKERS The TUC will campaign for a better deal for low-paid workers. The number of workers in poverty has risen by over 60 per cent. The campaign will call for young workers to be paid the full adult rate of a £10 an hour minimum wage and a minimum contract of 16 hours a week.


STANDING UP TO THE POLITICS OF HATE The trade union movement must be at the forefront of challenging the ‘politics of hate’ in the workplace and society amid the rise of the far right in the UK and Europe. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said that when neo-fascists threaten public order and peace, trade unionists would not retreat or be intimidated.


2019 TO BE THE YEAR OF YOUNG WORKERS Next year will be the Year of the Young Worker for the TUC. Delegates agreed that increasing union membership of young workers is a priority. Making the case for a collective voice is vital as many young workers have not experienced collective bargaining.


6 | theJournalist


Labour pledges major boost to workers’ and union rights


Shadow chancellor John McDonnell received a standing ovation when he told delegates the anti trade union era would end if Labour were elected to power. In his speech, he promised


to transform the workplace and working lives and said the Trade Union Act would be repealed in the first 100 days and basic trade union rights would be written into law again. All workers would have equal


trade union rights whether they were part time, full time, temporary or permanent. Zero hours contracts would be banned, with every worker getting a guaranteed number of hours each week, and there would be a return to collective bargaining. “Trade unions will have the


right of access to workplaces and we will introduce a real living wage of £10 an hour,” he added. Access to workplace justice would be restored with


employment tribunal fees abolished. McDonnell also pledged online and workplace balloting for industrial action. There were cheers when he


said: “We will tackle the gender pay gap once and for all. We will prioritise protections for women against unfair redundancy. No-one should be penalised for having children.” The answers to problems in the gig economy would not be found in the Taylor Report because its starting point was


that flexibility must come at the price of insecurity. “This is just plain wrong,” he


said. “Just because you don’t work regular hours doesn’t mean you should work when you are sick, just because you have several jobs doesn’t mean you can afford to lose one of them without warning, just because you value the freedom of independence or the convenience of flexibility, it doesn’t mean you have to forego basic trade union rights.”


“


Justin Welby was the third archbishop of Canterbury to speak to congress in the TUC’s 150-year history. He said the TUC had been


instrumental in reducing inequality, challenging injustice


and speaking for the poor, the marginalised and the oppressed. The archbishop urged delegates


to focus on their founding vision that for every oppressed worker there should be an organisation to speak truth to power.


This is just plain wrong. Just because you have several jobs doesn’t mean you can afford to lose one of them without warning


John McDonnell Shadow chancellor


Archbishop urges new unionisation


“There must be unions in the gig economy. There must be unions in industries being automated, wherever workers are vulnerable. There must be a new unionisation or there will only be a new victimisation,” he said.


Bad Brexit deal? Call an election


The TUC has said if the government cannot negotiate the right Brexit deal for workers, it should call a general election. General secretary Frances O’Grady told congress that, if the government


failed, the TUC would back a people’s vote on the deal. ”It isn’t about delaying Brexit – it’s about leaving the EU on the right terms


where jobs and rights come first. We’ve had 10 long years of wage freezes, cuts and austerity – and the stakes are high,” she said. She also pointed to the impact a hard Brexit would have on Ireland. O’Grady was backed by most union leaders including Unite’s Len McCluskey


who said a no deal Brexit would be a disaster for workers. However, Mick Cash of the RMT said a people’s vote was a Trojan horse for a second referendum.


JESS HURD


JESS HURD


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28