feature FDA sector conference
PART OF THE FDA FAMILY
Highlights of the 2024 Unite FDA sector conference
Unite’s Food, Drink and Agriculture (FDA) delegates heard from powerful speakers and engaged in spirited debate at sector conference in November.
Legal experts John Hendy and Keith Ewing gave an insightful presentation to FDA delegates about the new Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill, including how it will affect the sector, how it falls short and how unions and their members can lobby for improvements before it becomes law in 2026.
Enrico Somaglia, deputy general secretary of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) spoke of the
rising importance of “cross-border solidarity” as workers around the globe face “multiple crises”, including the climate emergency, geopolitical tensions and the advancement of the far-right.
Later, Unite organiser Scot Walker highlighted the dispute at Bakkavor, a multinational food manufacturing company whose workers in Lincolnshire are now on strike fighting for fair pay.
He told of how the company has attempted to break the strike and how Unite worked with EFFAT and a trade union in Iceland to protest against the company’s biggest shareholders in Reykjavik.
10 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2024
Unite national coordinator for young members Frazer Lake gave a sobering speech about how the union has historically struggled recruiting young people. But he also highlighted the encouraging inroads Unite has made over the last year. He told delegates of the support that is available for reps to recruit and further engage young people in their workplaces.
A key highlight of the FDA sector conference was debate on two motions – one on supporting Unite’s policy to implement or reinstate the agricultural wages board (AWB) in England, and the other to tackle the lack of affordable rural housing.
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