The union agenda

THIS weekend, representatives from unions, local constituency parties and the government will meet at the national policy forum at Warwick.

The aim will be to map out Labour's future strategy for the next manifesto.

The backdrop will be the result of the Glasgow East by-election - a sharp reminder of the direct link between policy decisions and people's electoral reactions.

So, what's on the agenda at Warwick? Issues are divided into different policy commissions - Britain in the World; Creating Sustainable Communities; Crime, Justice, Citizenship and Equalities; Education and Skills and Prosperity and Work.

Constituency parties have submitted amendments to the policy documents, as did trade unions. Around 40 of the 130 trade union amendments are designated as core and placed at the centre of their negotiations with government.

What will end up on the table at Warwick is difficult to assess.

In previous policy forum cycles, more than 90 per cent of amendments were altered, some significantly, or withdrawn after discussion with ministers. How core the trade unions' core amendments remain to the discussion will rely very much on the extent to which union representatives pursue them at the forum.

And pursue them they must. The weekend discussions provide an ideal opportunity for trade unions to state their case in favour of popular policies that support working people, the environment, communities and the economy.

Big business does not and can not deliver fairness at work or in society. Deregulation and privatisation has been exposed as an economic and social failure.

Trade unions, the largest, most democratic grouping in the country, have a unique role in representing the needs of working people. It's important that this voice is heard.

The trade union voice must ensure that the next Labour Party manifesto offers voters alternative policies.
Policies that help diminish the fears and insecurities of people struggling with a wages policy that fails to match price increases, a housing policy that fails to deliver a sufficient supply of affordable housing, a tax system that allows the rich to get richer with company profits soaring and inequality growing, a foreign policy that squanders massive resources while, at the same time, increasing our sense of insecurity.

And unions clearly know the kind of policies that will appeal to members. Many of the trade union amendments listed in the Warwick documents reflect the policies discussed and agreed at both TUC and Labour Party conferences.

Looking specifically at the collective rights of workers, there are core amendments calling for:

• Simplification of industrial action ballots
• Enabling supportive action across related employers
• A statutory right for unions to collectively bargain on training and pensions
• The restoration of the duty on ACAS to promote collective bargaining
• Protection of pensions following private equity takeovers

The question is, how many of those amendments will remain on the final agenda and which will be sacrificed in discussion with ministers?

Tinkering with the minimum wage, though welcome and sorely needed, will not deliver the sea change in policy required to win back core voters.

The fact that calls to extend the adult minimum rate to 18 to 21-year-olds and apprentices is a "core" trade union demand reflects the low level of policy delivery that we've come to expect from the Labour government.

Such low-level policy delivery should not deter unions from raising the level of their demands.

Focusing on what unions can do in the workplace should be at the forefront of trade union demands. Providing unions with the right to collectively bargain across all workplaces on all issues would do much to secure sought after fairness at work.

Union negotiations on pay, pensions, apprenticeship levels, takeovers, levels of agency and temporary workers, hours and holidays - in fact, all issues relating to workplace practices - are best done through free and effective trade union bargaining, rather than limited legislation.

And, for that bargaining to be effective, legislation should be introduced to ensure that trade unions have the rights and freedoms enshrined in international law, provided for in many European constitutions but denied to British workers for far too long.

Unfortunately, popular calls for a Trade Union Rights and Freedoms Bill have not reached the Warwick agenda, although aspects of the proposed Bill are included in the core amendments.

Ensuring that those amendments remain at the centre of negotiations with government and are not sacrificed in the face of hostile media reports about returning to the 1970s will be a crucial test of trade union determination.

Other amendments submitted by unions but not listed as core include extending statutory recognition procedures to small employers, restricting the use of agency workers during industrial action and the introduction of a fair-wages clause into all procurement contracts.

If these demands were won and unions, once again, were allowed the freedom to defend the interests of their members, we would begin the task of winning back the confidence of workers and the support of voters. Both are sorely needed.

Carolyn Jones is director of the Institute of Employment Rights and can be contacted on cad@ier.org.uk