Ending the hostile environment towards workers and unions
TUC Congress votes to hold the government account over repealing anti-trade union laws within 100 days.
Composite motion C01, End of the hostile environment towards workers and unions, comprised EIS’s motion 01, End of the hostile environment towards workers and motion 02, Repeal anti-union laws, from the FBU.
The composite motion “calls on the recently elected UK government to realise its manifesto pledges in respect of workers’ rights to bring a swift end to the hostile environment that workers have experienced for the past few decades, that has resulted in poorer working conditions and falling living standards.”
It called for the government to repeal the Trade Union Act 2016, the 2023 Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act and other anti-union laws. It also asked the government to outlaw zero-hours contracts, give all workers full employment rights from day one of employment, legislate on a ban on ‘fire and rehire’ and ensure workers across Britain are covered by the provisions of the full implementation of Labour’s New Deal for Working People.
Moving the motion, Paula McEwan, president of EIS, said: “the size and scale of the devastation wreaked on workers, their families and communities over the past decade and a half… mean that there’s not a minute to waste in us mounting a comprehensive programme of rebuilding and restoration of workers’ rights and living standards.”
The motion was seconded by Steve Wright of the FBU who said of the anti-union laws: “it is a disgrace that these laws were passed, designed to silence us and crush the voice of workers.”
Supporting the motion, PCS president Martin Cavanagh said: “We’ve already called for a full repeal of an act that was unnecessary and an impediment to our members in Border Force, as well as many other workers…. it would also remove the ballot thresholds for industrial action and the six-month limits on strike mandates.
“These rules undermine the ability of workers to advance their interests like never before, and they place additional costs on all of us. We support the banning of zero-hour contracts and outlawing the practice of "fire and rehire". We demand stronger national sectoral collective bargaining, which is critical for PCS as we currently face over 200 sets of delegated pay talks among civil service members alone.
“Today, it is clear that if the Labour government has not legislated and implemented the New Deal for Working People in full within the first 100 days, we call on the TUC to convene a special TUC Congress so we can collectively discuss our response to that abhorrent act. It would indeed be an abhorrent act.
“We must hold this government to account in the same way we have held every government to account over the years…. let’s be clear: if Labour reneges on their commitment to implement the New Deal for Workers in full, we will challenge them in the same way we have challenged the Tories.”
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