Free Our Unions

What’s in the Institute of Employment Rights manifestos and what does Labour say about them?

Published in November 2018

John McDonnell has said in several recent interviews that one of a Corbyn government’s priorities in its first hundred days will be to “restore” trade union rights. What rights are we talking about?

Angela Rayner was right about the anti-union laws

In September 2014, Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner (then a UNISON official, not yet an MP) spoke at a Manchester Trades Council public meeting about the need to repeal the anti-trade union laws introduced by the Tories in the 1980s and 90s. She wrote a summary of her speech for Unison North West, expressing the case briefly but forcefully. Excerpts below.

“We will not be bullied” – Glasgow workers defy council’s threat of anti-union laws

Published 24th October 2018.

In response to Glasgow refuse workers, street sweepers and parking attendants refusing to work in solidarity with striking home care, cleaning and catering workers, Glasgow city council has threatened their union, the GMB, with legal action under the anti-union laws.

Women’s strike shakes Glasgow, male workers take solidarity action

Published on 23rd October 2018.

At this stage, The Clarion can’t report anything much about the Glasgow “women’s strike” by thousands of home care, cleaning and catering workers that you won’t get from the GMB and from the bourgeois press.

We do however want to note the strike and express our solidarity. We hope to find opportunities for practical support and solidarity actions, and to help rouse the wider labour movement in support of the Glasgow workers’ struggle.

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.