I was asked to present to te Independent socialists of Wellingborough meeting on the Theme of Trade Unionism today and in the future. The following is the transcript of what I presented.
The Trade Union Movement 2022 and beyond
I’ve been a union member since 1983. First in ASTMS and
after a period of time out of the Country I have been a member of UNISON since
1993. The entire time I have been a UNISON member I have been working in the voluntary
and community sector. UNISON has only been organising in this sector in the
last 12 years and some part of the country evidently find this more difficult
than others as in my region this sector still has no lay leadership and no
influence on decision making in the organisation.
The Community and voluntary sector of the union is biggest
growing sector in UNISON. This is mainly as a result of neo-liberal policies
put forward to shrink the state and outsource public services to third party
organisations many of whom act as if their primary duty is to their shareholders.
These are care services, leisure services. These are workers who have been
impacted by the 2021 Supreme Court final judgement on a case of great
significance for care providers and low-paid care workers. The case in question
was Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake, was first brought to an Employment
Tribunal in 2016. It turned on whether care workers on ‘sleep-in shifts’ were
entitled to the national minimum wage for the full duration of their shift,
including time spent asleep. ‘Sleep-in
shifts’ are those where workers are required to sleep at a residence overnight
with the possibility of waking to provide care. The Supreme Court found that
those on sleep-in shifts in social care are not entitled to the national
minimum wage while asleep over turning previous tribunal victories.
This case related to an employment that 20 years ago would
be undertaken by a local government or health agency but now undertaken by a
charity. Does this have an impact on tribunal/supreme court decisions?
The workers in the community sector are often in insecure
employment. Perhaps on time limited contracts or hours which go up and down at
the drop of a hat. Often the kind of jobs that are done are central to the
welfare of the most vulnerable in our community and this ethical angle is often
exploited by employers to eek out every last bit of goodwill and flexibility to
ensure that the bottom line on the budget reports are as low as they can
possibly be.
With better employers looking at what they can do to support
their worker through the cost of living crisis, what hope for those in the
community sector.
With the actions of the #SummerOfSolidarity with industrial
action from the RMT, ASLEF, the CWU and Criminal Bar Association going on strike,
there has been a re-discovering of the both the mundane (who’s going to be on
the picket at 6am) to the creative use of social media to engage and update the
public.
There is more to come of this with local government, health
and the national education union all at various stages of balloting membership
for strike action.
Within this there is a dimension-shifting disconnect between
all kinds of the political establishment and unions taking industrial action.
Firstly in the Labour Party, the picket of not to picket.
Front benchers notable by their absence. Backbenchers link Zara Sultana
embracing the #Solidarity.
Even with in the Conservative Party, there are discussions
about the inconvenience of Train Drivers taking action on some days and Train
Maintenance and support staff taking action on other days. Would not it be more
sensible to take action on the same day they say. Conservative industrial
relations guru’s the number one supporters of the general strike!
This after all is the source of compassionate conservatism who
joined the public outcry when P and O Ferries made more than 1000 workers
redundant with no consultation on March. These employees were sacked by a
pre-recorded zoom message and initial statements about government legal action
disappeared like the morning mist. Individuals were left on their own with a
complex and lengthy tribunal process or the company payout which was just
slightly more that they would get in tribunal. So dismayed was the government
about this, that they are now considering taking action to use agency workers
to break strikes.
On the more positive side is the creation of the Enough Is Enough campaign. Crucially significant is the adoption of a broader set of
demands
The five demands to tackle the crisis
1. A Real Pay Rise.
2. Slash Energy Bills.
3. End Food Poverty.
4. Decent Homes for All.
5. Tax the Rich.
At a time of spiralling housing, energy and food costs.
Workers need wages but they also need a homes, food and utilities
Night before last there was also an announcement by the TUC.
The announcement itself came about with quite a lot of hype
and expectation, being released at 10.30pm at night. When the details came out
of a petition campaign for £15 an hour by 2030.
While the call for £15 national minimum wage is
to be welcomed the aspiration for this by 2030 is poor and as a movement we can
and should do better than this
