Stephen Lawrence Task Group
   tackling institutional racism in the workplace

Respect at Work Conference, 
Easton, Bristol, February 2000

Unions in the New Millennium

The Conference summary and closing remarks were left to Nigel Costley the Regional Secretary of the South West TUC for three years. Nigel is also a member of the South West Regional Development Agency.

Nigel summarised some of the main themes of the day: that we needed to remember our core values, that unions needed to be seen in the community, to get involved in local campaigns and to attack the barriers to black people joining and participating in unions. Union membership was on the increase. Membership growth was especially strong amongst black and ethnic minority workers but we have to win more.

In looking to the role of unions in the new millennium, Nigel stressed the need to revisit our common vision. Union visibility was a key challenge but the facts that there are 70 different unions and a hostile media made this difficult. Unions must look into all their nooks and crannies to root out discrimination. We cannot leave it to pot luck who gets the best level of support but the principles of lay membership sometimes made enforced training difficult. Unions need to re-examine their own structures.

Nigel agreed that black history was often ignored as was working class history generally. He illustrated his remarks by telling the story of Ernest Bevin who came to Bristol 100 years ago. He got involved in community politics and campaigned against unemployment. His efforts included a demonstration in Bristol Cathedral which led to a programme of public works including the digging of a lake in Eastville Park. He joined forces with striking dock workers who appointed him to their union. His first action was to recruit his fellow carters and renegotiate the pay system to stop the cruelty to the horses. Ernest Bevin went on to form the Transport and General Workers Union and to become Minister for Labour and Britain’s longest serving Foreign Secretary.

The lessons Nigel drew from this tale was that community and trade union actions had to be inter-linked. Unions had to reunite their efforts with community groups and that unions were much more than an insurance at work. Their reach was far wider and involved unexpected campaigns. That was true of the union support for the Lawrence family.

Nigel reminded the Conference of another local trade union champion, Ben Tillet, who led the Great Docks Strike. Members joined unions in their thousands, general workers who had no strength except solidarity. Nigel concluded by stating that solidarity and discrimination could not coexist that prejudice and unity were opposites. Unions had shown that sense of solidarity with the Lawrences and we had to renew our  values for the century ahead.

DJ Derek, a well known and well respected music collector in Bristol provided an ideal close to the conference.