Campaign news

CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE ANTI-UNION BILL

21st October 2015

CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE ANTI-UNION BILL

TRADE UNION CO-ORDINATING GROUP STATEMENT

The Trade Union Bill is a fundamental attack on our right to organise and strike in the face of ongoing austerity.
The Tories know the trade unions are the last line of defence for millions of working people.

The bill is yet another attempt to limit our ability to collectively resist the ongoing attacks on our standard of living and our public services.

It is also an assault on one of our most basic civil liberties, the right to withdraw our Labour.

The Tories elected by only 24% of the electorate, are imposing balloting thresholds that few MPs have met in their own election

We support the TUC view that extra criteria required for “essential” public service workers, is outside international labour law.

With the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader we now have a long-time supporter of the trade union movement at the head of the opposition.

This opens up new possibilities of successfully defeating the bill by mobilising the trade union movement against it, particularly when it gets its final reading. But if the Bill is passed through parliament, we have to build mass opposition to it.

This year’s TUC conference rightly supported calls for ‘generalised strike action’ against the bill and called on unions to make ‘preparation for supporting workers taking joint/coordinated industrial action’.

The TUC also pledged to give ‘maximum possible political and industrial support and finance to trade unions that may find themselves outside the law’

We underline our complete commitment to those decisions.

No trade union will be left to face the effects of any new legislation without receiving the solidarity and support of our whole movement.

We must campaign against laws that are to be used to prevent us successfully defending our members and wider society against years more of cuts and closures.

An injury to one is an injury to all. We will defend our right to strike and organise against austerity.
Action points:

 We call for maximum possible support for the TUC mass lobby of parliament on Monday 2 November.
 Every trade unionist and campaigner who can should attend. Our branch/committee/campaign/agrees to send…delegates to the lobby.
 We call for activity across Britain on 2 November against the anti-union laws. If you can’t attend the TUC’s lobby or the protest after it, organise activity in your own town or workplace, such as a city-centre rally or protest”.
 We are calling an after work protest at Parliament Square from 6pm to complement the TUC’s lobby.
 If the third reading of the bill is not heard on 2 November we call for a protest at Parliament Square from 6pm on the day of the reading and for activity against the bill in every workplace, town and city on that day.
 TUC conference supported the setting up of ‘committees, based on local unions, trades councils and existing anti-austerity campaigns to coordinate local activity, with meetings, days of action and rallies in every region across the UK’.
 In the spirit of this decision we will be organising a series of public rallies alongside anti-austerity campaigns after the third reading of the bill to build opposition to any new laws and to develop strategies to take them on.
 We call on trade unions, trade union branches, regions etc, anti-austerity campaigns and individuals to support this programme of action and add their name to the statement as supporters.

JOIN THE LOBBY by the TUC
RALLY AT CENTRAL HALL, WESTMINSTER, AT 1 PM ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 2ND
LOBBY YOUR MP FROM 2.30 PM

For those who can’t make it during the day:
JOIN THE TUCG EVENT AT 6PM.