Report – North West TUC Conference 2008

Mark Walsh, Branch Secretary Merseyside Amal reports on the first NW TUC Conference to be hedl at the new Liverpool Arena.

On Saturday the 12th April 08 the new Liverpool Arena held the North West TUC annual meeting, the CWU was represented by Karen Boson, Lee Davies, Maeve Kennedy, Tony Salt, Mark Walsh and Carl Webb.

In opening the conference the commented on the CWU campaign last summer during the postal and Crown Office strikes, he also commented on other disputes in the Merseyside area ‘Burtons Biscuits, Rolls Royce, Vauxhall and Ford motors.

The conference applauded the all the unions campaigns of 2007.

Alan Manning NW Regional Sec for the TUC gave his annual report; he said a third of North West workers where in unions, he added that in the last year the TUC membership had grown by thirty five thousand. The TUC wants to organise with young workers, in new jobs / careers and with new workers. The TUC union learn reps grew by 2000 in the last year. Migrant workers and workers at risk are still a TUC priority to try and keep them organised and represented.

The TUC has campaigned with Unison, NUT, CWU and other public service campaigns over the last year.

The TUC want to keep securing Recognition and collective bargaining rights it also wants to keep Health & Safety a priority in partnership with new areas of employment and to keep pushing in the older industries alike. A work in progress he described his report.

At this point the regional sec took several questions from the floor ‘Where do local

government issues come into TUC reports?’ but didn’t answer them.

Motion 1. By the CWU and 2nd by the PCS.
Carl moved the motion on taking the word of the trade union movement into schools to educate on trade unionism to try and encourage school leaver to seek out the union when starting work.                      
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 2. BY the NASUWT and 2nd by the NUT.
The motion was about Facilities and Facility time for union reps, the mover made reference to the recent Government Review containing 214 pages and an ACAS document. The movers wanted the TUC to continue to improve the reps facilities and release as still far too many reps where working ion their own time. In seconding the NUT it is a major issue within all trade unions, he added that at school level teachers get no release. The new academy system is a worry for the union as they are struggling to get members and reps due the management like way the schools are run.                       
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 3. By the PSC formerly seconded by the CWU.
The motion called for a best practice across the call centres in trying to stop the race for the bottom in pay and conditions.       
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 4. By the LGBT Network.
The motion called for better protection at work, to try and identify strategies, to identify and tackle discrimination in the work place.     
Carried Unanimously

Motion 5. By the UCATT.
The motion was for the TUC to keep the ban on Solidarity the BNP union being recognised A McFadden added an amendment asking for the campaign by unions and politicians alike to continue exposing the BNP for what they were a fascist organisation.     
Carried unanimously.

Motion 6. by UNISON
The motion was set around a sub National Review of Economic Development and Regeneration they felt the TUC needed to have an involvement on the future changes to an area, business interests where always considered first. The TUC should campaign for workers interests as well as that of the local communities affected. 50% of quango members live in London and the South East, 15% come from the London Boroughs alone and they still talk and control the North West Development Agency so it follows they serve big business, the movers also criticised the North West minister for not attending the meeting when called in the NW.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 7. by the PCS.
The mover felt this was the fight back by the trade union movement with the NUT being the first into the battle with the government, the movers asked for everyone union to support the teachers.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 8. By UNISON
Another motion on Public sector pay.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 9. By UNITE
The motion was about Employment Legislation and the mover was concerned about the lack of progress in moving the issue forward. They also mentioned the 193 mp’s who signed ht EDM on the trade union bill. They also highlighted the closure of Rolls Royce in Bootle not being able to get support from other Rolls Royce workers due to the anti union legislation. a
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 10. By UNITE
The mover called for the right to have full re-instatement if you win an ET, business was sacking trade union reps even if they had to pay out at an ET to get rid of them, changing the law and enforcing full re-instatement would stop this happening.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 11 By the PCS 2nd by the CWU.
The motion on Agency workers was asking for the law to cover them i.e. Dismissal, Redundancy Protection. The mover added if we didn’t look after them then they would undermine the full time permanent workforce and its conditions. Lee Davies second the motion by informing the conference of the recent CWU campaign involving Andrew Miller MP, he added we need to keep a check on H&S as these are often the first things to slip.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 12. By UCATT
The mover mentioned the recent gangsters licensing bill and outlined reason why the bill needed to be included in the construction industry, with sub contracting on cost the workers where often unprotected and would on occasion have pay withheld, other workers from abroad would be charged travel and housing costs incurred by the employer and then have pay held to make sure they worked on other sites for them. The gangmaster won’t allow these workers to join unions and follow the union officials around various sites.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 13. By LATUC
The motion called to keep the pressure on the government in line with the state of women’s pensions. If not changed the women’s pension will fall by 12% by 2012 and almost 5 million women will not have any of the recent improvements made. Women who have taken time off to care will be penalised the most whether it be child care or elderly care.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 14. By Women’s Committee.
Portrayal of Domestic Violence in particular that of television and some of the recent storylines in the soaps, they committee had indeed wrote to Granada TV regarding the Tracy Barlow storyline expressing its concern at the portrayal of domestic violence and the consequences possibly raised by the scrip. The mover highlighted a case in Spain where a women had unbeknown to the TV company suffered abuse and was asked to appear on a show, it turned out the person who had abused her for many years was their to ask her to get married on air, she refused and was found dead a few days later. The mover also added that some of the portrayals linked to social areas etc do not help the issue with 25% of reported crime being some form of domestic violence. Other speaker’s mentioned a Liverpool success story “Best kept secret” and a conference being held Karen Bosson entered the debate in support.
Carried Unanimously.

Motion 22. By Black Workers Network.
The mover spoke about the way the Romanian Travellers where being treated especially as some of theme had been chased and burnt of their own country. They were penalised by the non following of the EU right of free movement not allowing them vital support services or employment. They are in the UK legally but aren’t allowed to work, childcare or schooling. The motion asks for the government to grant a concession to travellers already here to allow paid employment and to ensure the education act of 1944 to have schooling and housing in place. It also called or the government to to negotiate with the Romanian government to end discrimination against them in Romania.
Carried Unanimously.

Emergency Motion by the Merseyside TUC.
The motion was about the building of the new Royal Liverpool hospital and its PFI funding, the Motion called on the TUC to exhaust all processes to stop the PFI link to the new building and to push the city council and government to end this lottery. Unison opposed some of the wording adding that their union is the union who has been trying to deal with the problem for a number of years.
Carried

Motion 21 By MATUC
The motion was moved by A McFadden regarding the Oil industry and the fight the union was having in Iraq since the occupation by allied troops, he went on to describe the carnage caused by allied attacks on the country. The major American and British oil companies are taking the money out of the Iraqi people and pumping the money away from the people whilst undermining the unions and its call for the industry to be nationalised.
Carried Unanimously.

Conference Closed at 4.00pm

Guest Speakers

After Motion 3 the conference was stopped for an address by the leader of the TUC.
Brendan Barber the TUC General Secretary then addressed the meeting. He was born in Southport so was pleased to come home to the new conference arena, he also mentioned the NUT GS Steve Sinnott also from Liverpool who had recently died Brendan spoke of Steve love of the city and his tireless work on behalf of the NUT and also the TUC.
He then mentioned project on the State Pension, Union Learn growth, Progress on Vulnerable workers and the increases in minimum wages. He felt 2008 will be a pivotal year with the credit crunch, a global downturn, and worry for politics. Since 1992 ‘Labour Flatlining’ in the polls with 32%, they seem to make Liberalisation look like Thatcherism.
PM challenges for the next year

1. Public Services back on track (reform has undone the good work public services provided) no to profit privatisations.
2. Public Sector Pay.
3. Global uncertainty, the labour government needs to act quickly to slow the process down in the UK this can only happen if the city and banks are put into check.

He also believed London and the South East was in over burn and the rest of the country was in a downturn. The proof was in pay packets of chief execs like M&S, £25 billion in tax evasion for the rich. Fat cat business leaders continue excessive bonuses and cut wages and stop pension schemes.

In closing he added that communities need to come together and fight hate and move forward for the future of the country and the union movement.

After Motion 6 the conference was suspended for an MP visit.
Whilst the conference waited for Angela Eagle MP to attend (in place of Minister for NW) the conference allowed delegates to speak on other TUC issues.
1st speaker from Unite mentioned a dispute in Argos last Xmas in Ireland when their staff where on strike the company flew staff over from London to break the strike, he also mentioned Asda/Walmart disputes last year with very little press coverage or more worrying very little TUC coverage.
2nd speaker from PCS mentioned how marks and Spencer where trying to bury the union involvement in the stores. He asked the TUC to support the union and the workers involved by highlighting the management’s campaign.

MP Speech.
Angela Eagle MP about the Re-generation of Merseyside including New Brighton, the new arena and she also mentioned the CWU being the first union to use the Arena. She was a member of the review that has taken place about regeneration and she believes we need to De-centralise Economic Development and Re-generation back down to the regions and the local communities. She added the union movement had a major role to play in the process moving forward. The NW TUC has played a major part in the North West Development Agency in the last few years. Angela felt the Regional Development agencies must be become accountable to local authority as wells as the government.

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