StrongerUnions-
Northern TUC Annual conference release
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Alan Wainwright '…is animated about who are the ultimate culprits – the directors of the construction companies. "Ian Kerr is not the primary cause of this. The companies set him up in business, funded his existence from the start, and each name on the list would have been provided by the companies. The directors took the decisions to join the system."
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Jack Jones, 1913-2009, joined the International Brigades in May 1938 as a twenty-five year old Liverpool docker and Labour Councillor. He became political commisar of the British Battalion’s Number One, Major Attlee Company. The Company banner is featured on the new T-shirt from www.philosophyfootball.com in celebration of Jack’s memory. There are 5 to be won in this May competition.
To enter the competition go to Compass where i found this post
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Great article by Steve Early – if nothing else you should try and read the books he namechecks through the piece! Hat tip to Eric at Labour Start.
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Today the TUC launched a joint statement with BERR & the CBI, setting out ‘the positive contribution [union reps] can make to the workplace’.
The statement comes on the back of research undertaken by BERR, as part of its review of facilities and time off for workplace, which found that union reps contributed between £3.4bn and £10.2bn (net) to the UK economy, on the basis that their presence in a workplace brings about a combination of productivity gains, reduced staff turnover, less time off as a result of sickness, improved health and safety and better training for staff.
According to the foreword of the statement, signed by Brendan Barber, Richard Lambert and Lord Mandelson,
“Union representatives constitute a major resource: there are approximately 200,000 workers who act as lay union representatives. We believe that modern representatives have a lot to give their fellow employees and to the organisations that employ them”
The TUC hopes that newly released statement will encourage employers to work positively with union reps; to give unions an additional tool to extend and build on facilities agreements; and add weight to our calls for equality and ‘green’ reps to enjoy similar statutory rights to other types of union rep.
The TUC is keen to circulate this statement as far as possible and to encourage other employer/union bodies to sign similar statements – you can download a copy of the statement here, or order bulk hard copies from the TUC (please e-mail: jadams@tuc.org.uk) .
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Inspirational speaker Elaine Bernard of Harvard Law School speaks in this short film to young leaders at the Young Foundation in Bethnal Green about unions, government, politics, capitalism.
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The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain which is a TUC affiliated union is celebrating its 50th anniversary today (13th May) and, to commemorate this momentous occasion they are offering 50 people the chance to join the Guild on its 50th anniversary for just £50 (rather than £100- £150 per annum).
This is presenting a great recruitment opportunities for them. Good luck to the Writers’ Guild on its 50th anniversary!
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Yesterday’s excellent TUC and Union Ideas Seminar on China, its impact on the world economy and the trade union response, was slightly marred by how few trade unions were represented.
The clear message from the seminar was that to view China as a monolithic state, with a dreadful record on human rights, was over-simplistic. China, and Chinese business, was now a world player. The owners or majority shareholders of businesses UK unions are dealing with will soon as likely to be a Chinese multi-national as American. China is rapidly expanding its interests in Africa where the UK would have looked to as a ready market for British goods and services. This is no longer the case. China is making this an area to boost Chinese exports, creating jobs and businesses back home, a diversion of resources which has implications for British jobs and union members.
Unions have to understand the complexities of Chinese society where the notion of a ‘working class’ does not exist in the way we would understand the term. A society where worker activists are taking strike action everyday yet the major trade union association, the All China Federation Trade Unions, has to, and wants to, work within the legal constraints of Chinese employment law and which would be expected of it by its members.
Whether at home or abroad, British trade unions are going to have to come to understand and work with Chinese entrepreneurs and the AFCTU. If British trade unions want to change the Chinese record on human rights the Movement is going to have to engage in a dialogue with the Chinese community here and in China. The development of a truly free trade movement would see the removal of human rights abuses but that has to be done on China’s terms not imposing our notions of trade unions and freedom.
Anna
Paul Nowak
Tom Mellish
