PCS fringe meeting at TUC Congress

Towards a new age of workplace justice - can Labour deliver?

Featuring a screening of the film, Make Some Noise

Speakers: Fran Heathcote, PCS general secretary; Nicola Smith, the TUC’s head of the Rights, International, Social and Economics department; Hugh Lanning, former PCS deputy general secretary.

Chair: Martin Cavanagh, PCS president

PCS kicked off 2024 by leading a massive national TUC demonstration in Cheltenham against the Tory government’s Minimum Service Levels Act. Cheltenham was chosen as the venue to hold the ‘Protect the Right the Strike’ march and rally as it also marked the 40^th anniversary of the GCHQ trade union ban.

Back in 1984, when the ban was announced by the Thatcher government, trade unions from across the UK mobilised to support the campaign and stood shoulder to shoulder to ensure these workers won back their human right to be in a trade union.

Jump forward 40 years and trade unionists were responding to the latest attacks on workers’ rights, showing how there is still power in our movement. 

PCS welcomed the new Labour UK government’s announcement to repeal the minimum service levels law. Our union is now calling for the scrapping of all other anti-trade union laws, such as the Trade Union Act 2016.

The Labour administration has promised to smash the anti-union laws and empower workers to join a union and organise. They have promised to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices and enhance employment rights and to make work pay.

Our fringe will be asking the question “Can they deliver?” and discussing how trade unions can hold them to their promises.