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Paul Nowak sets out the case to boost worker’s rights and living standards
Labour’s historic election victory was a real moment of hope for working people.
After 14 years of Tory austerity, chaos and division, the new government has a mammoth task ahead. Pay has stagnated, living standards have fallen, insecure work has surged and our public services are falling apart. Rather than fix these problems Conservative ministers drove a divisive politics pushing blame instead on to migrants in boats.
Recent attempts by the far right, including street violence, to sow division and hatred among communities have brought home just how urgent the job of delivering change is.
The far right has preyed on the disaffection caused by Tory failings using lies to divide communities, spread Islamophobia and xenophobia, and incite violent disorder. The new Labour government has a chance to address the underlying problems that are being exploited by Farage and Tommy Robinson.
Our job as a movement is to unite workers, while together with Labour we must work to get our economy and workers’ wages growing, address spiralling in-work poverty and insecurity, rebuild our shattered public services and tackle the politics of hate.
In its first 100 days, Labour has hit the ground running. Its new National Wealth Fund will channel investment into strategic growth sectors. The Green Prosperity Plan will help us deliver a just path to net zero, while foundation industries like steel are crying out for the prospect of a proper industrial strategy.
But growth alone is not enough: we need to ensure working people share in its proceeds through higher living standards. With over four million workers trapped in insecure jobs, it’s clear our long experiment with a low-wage, low-rights economy has been a terrible failure. That’s why trade unions have been campaigning hard for Labour to implement its New Deal in full – and why we welcome the employment rights bill.
The New Deal will be a genuine gamechanger. Day one employment rights, a ban on zero hours contracts, an end to fire and rehire, fair pay agreements in sectors like social care, new rights for unions, and the repeal of the anti-union legislation will all benefit millions of workers. These measures will deliver a fundamental reset in the world of work, stopping good employers being undercut by the bad, and preventing rogue firms like P&O Ferries breaking the law with impunity.
Ministers have shown a willingness to face down siren voices who are seeking to delay and dilute this vital legislation. Stronger employment and labour rights will benefit workers, businesses and the economy. The naysayers were wrong about the minimum wage introduced by the last Labour government – and they are wrong about the New Deal.
Another key step will be repairing our crumbling public realm. Our schools, hospitals, prisons and other key services are on their knees and the Tories left a massive public sector workforce crisis. The long-running junior doctors’ dispute is symptomatic of the way our services have been run down, with nearly 300,000 vacancies in the NHS and social care. Meanwhile, the number of teaching vacancies has more than doubled in the past three years. Patients, pupils and parents are all paying a catastrophic price for years of Tory neglect.
Labour’s focus on growth will help boost the public coffers, and we welcome commitments to scrap tax breaks for private schools to fund new teachers in the state sector, and to close non-dom loopholes to bring down NHS waiting lists.
But unions want the government to go further. Last year, the TUC called for a national conversation on taxing wealth to fund our services. There remains a strong case for policies such as equalising capital gains tax with the taxes paid on earnings. It’s only right that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share.
Going forward, the trade union movement will work with Labour to deliver national renewal. There may well be moments of tension that come with being a critical friend, but our shared history and values will help us navigate the profound economic and social challenges ahead.
While it is for the Labour government to deliver the leadership Britain needs, the trade union movement faces a huge job too. We recorded a welcome 90,000 rise in our net membership last year, but we must do more to reach young workers and workers in the private sector.
We must do more to make our movement more representative, more diverse and more inclusive. Tackling discrimination against disabled and LGBT+ people, sexism and racism must be at the heart of our campaigning and bargaining work. With the far right a clear and present danger, our work on equality matters more than ever.
Trade unions play a unique role in uniting communities and challenging hate, and we will stand firm against those that aim to pit workers against each other.
The recent vote at Amazon may have been a setback, but we should face the future with confidence. Using every union-busting trick in the book, the American giant only prevented union recognition by the narrowest of margins. But our fight is not over: using new rights being delivered by Labour, we’ll be going after bad bosses.
Welcome though the recent change of government is, cabinet ministers can’t negotiate better terms and conditions and MPs can’t hold every bad boss to account. Only we can give workers the collective voice, power and influence they deserve.
Solidarity to all!