Retail trade union Usdaw today partnered with unions from across the movement in successfully promoting a composite motion at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) calling for an end to the hostile environment towards workers and unions.
Addressing delegates at TUC in Brighton, Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary said: “Over the last 14 years, workers and unions have faced relentless attacks and barriers by consecutive Tory Governments. They’ve threatened our right to strike, damaged industrial relations and prolonged disputes. They have not just attacked trade unions, they’ve attacked workers and delivered a cost of living crisis which has seen the worst squeeze on living standards since records began.
“Working people and their families have suffered terribly. So, I’m delighted to be speaking to you here today, finally, under a Labour Government. A Government who can make a real difference to the lives of our members and all workers, with a New Deal for Working People. A deal that Usdaw, alongside the whole union movement, has long campaigned for.
“We’ve already seen this in action. The Employment Rights Bill Labour announced during their first King’s Speech is a key step forward. We saw the Government committing to measures to tackle insecure employment, to make work pay and, crucially, to strengthen the rights of trade unions.
“Labour’s commitment to repeal the Minimum Service Levels Act is a particularly important milestone for our movement. We all know that strike action is always a last resort, but the right to strike is a fundamental freedom, a freedom that must be respected, and we should all be proud of how trade unions have come together to protect this right and how workers stood strong in solidarity - whether they were directly affected by this law or not - but there is still more work to be done.
“This is the start of a historic opportunity for real change. Change that will truly transform workers’ lives. This is what we’ve been working towards for years. This is what we must continue to do. We must continue to campaign for the full removal of all anti-trade union legislation and to drive up employment rights using every lever possible, so that all workers have the protections they need. The protections they deserve.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter/X @UsdawUnion