By Paddy Lillis – Usdaw General Secretary
The real issues affecting our members’ lives are at the core of our campaigns around which we organise. Industrial organising provides the foundation upon which we negotiate with employers and represent our members’ interests in the workplace; political organising provides the foundation upon which we campaign to change the country and represent our members’ interests in society. These are two sides of the same coin, used together to improve the lives of Usdaw members.
Usdaw is affiliated to the Labour Party because it is our party and provides us with the only means by which to secure a government on the side of our members, working people, and the most vulnerable in society. By using our collective strength we can campaign and win, delivering a Labour Government that will deliver for our members.
We have known that it’s been coming for a while now. This Conservative Government, which ran out of ideas long ago, has limped onwards for far too long, but they can no longer avoid a general election and a chance for us to remove them from government. It is a chance we must take. We have endured five different Conservative Prime Ministers in 14 years, but as much as they pretend they are different, that they have changed, we know it’s not true.
This Government’s record is one of failure and incompetence. A record that has made the lives of Usdaw members harder, at work and at home. The only way to secure real change is to remove this Government and vote for a Labour Government that is on our side, fighting to deliver the policies, pledges and commitments that will make our members’ lives better. This will not come easy, which is why all in the trade union movement and on the left of politics must play our part.
Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, life for working people and their families has significantly worsened by almost every measure we have. The Conservatives have caused unnecessary hardship through their choices. The crisis in our public services, worsening child poverty rates and an unstable economy are all outcomes of their political decisions. Although there have been attempts made by the current Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, to distance himself from the decisions made by previous Conservative Prime Ministers, the reality is that he was part of previous governments and he is continuing to make the same choices that hurt Usdaw members and their families.
Usdaw members have repeatedly raised the pressure of the rising cost of everyday essentials such as food and clothes, piled on top of the sky-high prices of electricity, gas and transport. We are all still feeling the after-effects of the economic chaos the Conservatives created with their mini-budget, which spiked interest rates, crashed the economy and made mortgages unaffordable.
Labour knows that economic security, stability and growth are crucial for job security, stability and growth and recognise that retail is a key part of the economy. It is committed to ensuring that a growing economy leads to good quality jobs, strong local economies across the whole of the country and support for our high streets.
Labour knows that unionised workplaces are more likely to provide decent pay, workplace benefits and protection at work. Labour will remove the Conservatives’ punitive restrictions on trade union activity such as the Trade Union Act 2016 and make it easier for unions to be recognised to negotiate with employers on behalf of their members. Underpinning workers’ rights will be a new single enforcement body with the powers to undertake targeted and proactive enforcement work and bring civil proceedings upholding employment rights.
The next Labour Government will also: introduce day one workers’ rights to strengthen the rules on unfair dismissal, sick pay, parental leave, and many other things; make the minimum wage a real living wage and ensure that every adult worker is entitled to it; ban exploitative zero-hours contracts; ensure anyone working regular hours for 12 weeks or more receives a fair contract which reflects these hours; end the practice of fire and rehire; ensure everyone can benefit from flexible working rights allowing everybody the chance to create a better work-life balance; strengthen protections against redundancy; require employers to compensate workers when not enough notice is given for cancelled or changed shifts; take action to close the gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps, and put mental health on par with physical health in our workplaces.
Our member-led, evidence-based campaigns reflect the issues and concerns members have expressed to us about life both at work and at home. Across Usdaw’s campaigns, it is clear how a Labour Government will bring in the changes we have been calling for and improve members’ lives.