The following motion was passed at London Labour Party conference (2-3 March 2019) after being submitted by the London region of the Communication Workers’ Union.
Unionisation to prevent low pay and precarious employment in London
As well as being home to some of the richest corporations and individuals in the country (and the world), London is also home to some of the worst poverty and deprivation, and much of this is ‘in work poverty’. Many workers in London are on low pay, zero hour contracts or in bogus ‘self employment’.
Recently, in sectors including cleaning and security, courier and delivery services, catering and fast food, and entertainment, workers have organised and taken collective action to defend jobs and achieve better terms and conditions. These include cinema workers at London Picturehouses, workers at McDonalds in central London, couriers at City Sprint, Uber Eats and Deliveroo and cleaners at SOAS, LSE, and Goldsmith colleges.
We note the current #endgame campaign by the CWU against outsourcing of the BT Facilities Management jobs and the franchising of Post Offices in London. We welcome the Labour leadership support for workers in dispute and the commitment in the 2017 Manifesto for rights for employees from day one, whether they have permanent or temporary contracts, work for agencies or are in the ‘gig’ economy. We call on the London Labour Party to support the abolition of all the anti-union laws introduced by the Thatcher, Major and Cameron Governments that stop workers in London taking strike action and solidarity action to win recognition and collective bargaining rights to improve their working lives.
Free Our Unions 