Free Our Unions

Labour conference commits to “abolishing anti-union laws” (again)

Published on The Clarion website, on 27th September 2018.

Following the policy on repealing the anti-union laws and re-establishing the right to strike passed at Labour Party conference in 2015 and 2017, this year’s conference again resolved (in the Brexit composite!) that:

“Labour will form a radical government; taxing the rich to fund better public services, expanding common ownership, abolishing anti-union laws and engaging in massive public investment.”

So conference’s policy has, though in only a few words, once again been clearly stated.

RMT President Sean Hoyle on why you should buy our union rights pamphlet

By Sean Hoyle, (at the time of writing) RMT National President. Published on 26th September 2018.

My union and others have learned through years of experience that the most eﬀective way to win for our members is to take strong industrial action. We have also learned that the anti-union laws are designed to stop us doing that. Law after law has tied us up tighter and tighter.

Scottish FBU’s Denise Christie: Respect Labour conference policy on union rights!

Scottish FBU Secretary Denise Christie gave this speech at Labour Party conference on 24 September 2018.

Matt Wrack: Labour must vow to scrap all anti-union laws

This article, by FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack, was orginally published on Labour List, in September 2018. Find it here.

Our Tory anti-union laws represent one of the foremost constraints preventing working-class people from winning better conditions at work and making gains in wider politics. That’s why at this year’s Labour Party conference I’ll be speaking at a fringe meeting organised by The Clarion magazine that focuses on Labour and the vital question of anti-trade union laws.

Labour must get the anti-union laws off workers’ backs!

By Mark Osborn, NEU rep at City of London Academy (Southwark). Published on 23rd October 2018.

The National Education Union at CoLA took three days of strike action in March. We took one day of action on the first week, two days the next week and the union told our Head we would be out for three days every week until our demands were met.

John McDonnell’s TUC speech and the right to strike

Published on 11th September 2018

John McDonnell’s speech to the TUC on workers’ rights comes in the context of new figures showing falling unemployment and rising real earnings. But higher employment does not automatically mean better conditions and rights for workers; and the marginal increase in real wages comes after a decade of the most severe fall since records began. A strong Labour intervention for workers’ rights is badly needed.

Unite conference demands repeal of all anti-union laws

Published on 15th August 2018.

Last month’s Unite the Union policy conference voted for a motion committing Unite to campaign for the repeal of all anti-union laws – not just the 2016 Trade Union Act – and their replacement by strong legal rights for workers and unions, including a strong right to strike.

IWGB supports call to repeal anti-union laws, establish strong right to strike

This statement was originally published on the IWGB website. Find it here.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) is backing the call supported by a growing number of trade union branches and organisations for repeal of all anti-trade union laws and their replacement with positive legal rights for workers and unions to organise and take industrial action.

Arguing for the right to strike

By Ali Crabtree, Prospect

June 3rd saw over six hundred members of the trade union Prospect descend upon the ICC in Birmingham for our biennial conference, as the elected representatives of 140k members.

Prospect advertises itself as a union for professionals, scientists, engineers and managers and represents workers predominantly across Energy, Research, Communications, Defence and Government sectors. Keen observers would know this is the first full conference since media union BECTU disaffiliated from the Labour Party to be merged with Prospect eighteen months ago,which surprisingly is less time than BECTU has been in full scale dispute with Picturehouse cinemas.

Trade union rights – back John McDonnell’s call

By Sam Greenwood, Wakefield Local Government UNISON activist

Speaking at a meeting on the first hundred days of a Labour government at Unison conference this week, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said that a Corbyn government will repeal all the Tories’ anti-union laws and enact positive legislation for workers’ rights. He also said Labour would back all strikes, in and out of office.

This is very positive. It’s the first time that a Labour leader has talked about repealing the anti-union laws – as opposed to just the the latest one, the 2016 Trade Union Act – since some comments by Corbyn in early 2016.