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Welcome

Welcome to In ToUCh e-bulletin from the TUC, the bite-size round up of our news and views.

This issue features news of a major TUC mobilisation in the autumn, the launch of a campaign on employee rights, and the appointment of a British head of the International Labour Organisation.

Let us know what you think about the issues reported here by emailing editor@tuc.org.uk.

Copies of In ToUCh are archived at www.tuc.org.uk/intouch

TUC News

Day of Action: 20 October

The TUC has named Saturday 20 October as the date for a major demonstration in London when unions, workers and campaign groups will join together to call for a Future that Works.

The event, which aims to build on the huge success of last year's March for the Alternative, will begin with a march through central London and end with a rally in Hyde Park. The aim is to highlight the failures of government austerity and call for economic policies that work - and get people back to work.

A new website detailing arrangements for the 20 October mobilisation will appear shortly, a link to which will be on the TUC website.

Summary details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21056-f0.cfm

Employee rights STOP employment wrongs

More than three million people working in companies with fewer than ten staff will be turned into second-class citizens if right-wing government supporters get their way, according to an analysis published to coincide with the launch of the new trade union campaign Employee Rights Stop Employment Wrongs.

Led by wealthy businessman Adrian Beecroft, opponents of workplace decency are using the economic crisis as an excuse to try to smuggle through further attacks on employee rights, despite Britain ranking second lowest among 34 OECD nations for its workplace protections.

Launched on 30 May, the new campaign has its own website featuring posters, a petition and two videos that supporters can download and pass on the friends.

More on this story @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-21079-f0.cfm

Visit the campaign website @

http://stopemploymentwrongs.org/

Food report leaves nasty taste

A Joseph Rowntree Foundation report exposing forced labour and gross exploitation of migrant workers in the food industry shows why more rather than less workplace protection is needed, the TUC said in response.

Published last month, the report found that in some cases exorbitant fees were demanded by gangmasters and workers denied the chance to earn enough to pay off debts.

Despite these revelations, the Government is still to go ahead with plans to scale back the work of the Gangmaster Licensing Authority, which was introduced by Labour to tackle gross exploitation in sectors where the gangmaster system still operates.

Full TUC reaction @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-21023-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-21064-f0.cfm

Violations worsened in 2011

The situation faced by trade unionists across the world grew steadily worse in 2011, according to the latest annual survey of trade union rights violations by the International Trade Union Confederation.

Examining 143 countries, the study revealed that 76 trade unionists were murdered last year, with thousands more dismissed and arrested. Colombia was once again the most dangerous place to be a trade unionist, while those in Guatemala also paid a desperate price for their work.

Full details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-21093-f0.cfm

Top Guy at the ILO

British trade unionist Guy Ryder has been elected head of the UN agency responsible for worldwide employment rights.

Guy, 56, who started his trade union career in the TUC International Department, was elected Director General of the International Labour Organisation last month following a series of ballots cast by the 56 members of the ILO Governing Body, who are drawn from governments, employers' organisations and unions around the world.

He will take up his five year term of office at the ILO in October following the retirement of Chilean diplomat Juan Somavia, who has held the post for the past 13 years.

Further details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/international/tuc-21069-f0.cfmv

ILO conference under way

Meanwhile, the ILO, which last month formally welcomed South Sudan as its 184th member, is currently hosting its annual conference in Geneva. Later in June, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will address the 3,000 delegates.

More on the ILO conference @

http://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/101stSession/lang--en/index.htm

Jubilee scandal

The TUC reacted angrily to the poor working conditions faced by unpaid stewards at the Diamond Jubilee and said the 'appalling treatment' they suffered highlighted the problems that unpaid work experience can cause.

The TUC also warned that unpaid job seekers had been working alongside fully-paid staff, suggesting that government programmes may be displacing proper jobs that pay at least the minimum wage.

Full TUC reaction @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-21096-f0.cfm

After austerity

Places are still available at a major TUC conference looking at what the future holds for the UK economy as and when recovery takes place.

Held on 26 June at Congress House, the event is being run in partnership with the Guardian newspaper and features more than 30 expert speakers including US economist Dean Baker, academic Ha-Joon Chang and Keynes biographer Robert Skidelsky.

More information @

www.afterausterity.org.uk

Netroots UK

Trade unionists and digital campaigners will join forces at Congress House on 30 June to explore how to work together to boost progressive causes by using the internet and social media.

Organised by Netroots UK, the event will help the trade union movement develop its campaigning work in this increasingly important arena and make best use of emerging technologies.

Further details @

http://www.netrootsuk.org/

Government 'dishonest' on disability

The Government is being 'fundamentally dishonest' about its policies for disabled people, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber warned the TUC Disabled Workers' Conference, which was held at Congress House last month.

'When it comes to disability, there is a fundamental dishonesty about government policy', he said. 'The coalition is keen to promote the language of fairness and is keen to stress the opportunities available to disabled people, but the truth could not be more different. Nowhere is the dichotomy between rhetoric and reality starker than when it comes to benefits - a lifeline for so many disabled people.'

More on this @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-21068-f0.cfm

Only workers can stop boardroom excess

The TUC is calling for workers to be given seats on company pay committees as the only way to keep top pay in check.

The call was made in response to a government consultation on shareholder voting rights and comes at a time when there are signs of a shareholder revolt against boardroom excess.

Full details @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21017-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21004-f0.cfm

Reclaim the NHS

A conference on saving the NHS from cuts and the privatisation unleashed by the Health and Social Care Act will be held on Saturday 23 June at Friends House, Euston, London. It is being supported by a range of unions, campaign groups and the TUC.

Organised by the NHS Support Federation, the event will feature contributions from health experts, NHS staff and trade unions.

More information @

www.nhscampaign.org/reclaiming

Rail campaign gathers speed

Unions are warning that more than 20,000 jobs on the UK's railways could be lost as a result of the Government's damaging attacks on the industry.

To highlight the threat, the Action for Rail campaign was launched at Euston Station in London on 28 May by Brendan Barber, ASLEF Vice-President Tosh McDonald, RMT General Secretary Bob Crow, TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes and Unite National Officer Julia Long. It signalled the start of a week of campaigning.

More on this @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/industrial/tuc-21062-f0.cfm

Poor outlook for workers

A warning of long term economic misery accompanied the May economic indicators, which show a welcome fall in unemployment offset by more people who want to work full time being forced into part-time jobs and, most worrying, collapsing wage rates.

In response, the TUC said that people's incomes and job security today were barely any better than they were at the height of the financial crash. Unless governments acted together to stop the austerity misery spiral, the UK's economic depression would continue for far longer than feared.

The jobs and wages statistics were accompanied by figures from the TUC's own living standards index, which show that in February inflation for the poorest 10 per cent was 4.1 per cent, compared with 3.6 per cent for middle-income households and 3.3 per cent for the richest ten per cent.

TUC response to economic data @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21063-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21057-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21040-f0.cfm

TUC living standards index @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21055-f0.cfm

http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21008-f0.cfm

Lighting flame for workers' rights

The Playfair 2012 campaign has launched a new initiative, Light the Flame for Workers' Human Rights, calling on the International Olympic Committee to take responsibility for ending the exploitation of workers producing Olympic-branded goods.

An action pack and online materials have been developed to support the campaign. Playfair 2012 is backed by the TUC.

More on this @

http://www.playfair2012.org.uk/about/light-the-flame-for-workers-human-rights/

Victims of homophobia remembered

The TUC marked International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on 17 May by calling for greater recognition of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who have been attacked or killed around the world.

The TUC is helping unions internationally to develop their understanding and support for LGBT rights. A delegation of French trade unionists visited the TUC last month to learn more about the good practice developed by UK unions.

More on this @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-21039-f0.cfm

Presenteeism warning

A warning against 'presenteeism' - people working when too sick to do so - was issued by the TUC following new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last month showing reduced sickness absence.

'Presenteeism can multiply problems by making someone ill for longer and spreading germs around the workplace,' said Brendan Barber. 'Employers need to look at their working practices and see whether they can be changed to prevent ill-health, rather than try to blame workers for falling sick, which serves no good to anyone'.

Read full story @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-21026-f0.cfm

Shifts pose cancer threat

The Government and the Health & Safety Executive are being asked to give urgent advice to employers following a study by the Occupational and Environmental Medicine website, which found that frequent night shifts are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer among women workers.

The study confirms previous research which has shown that shift work is now the second biggest cause of work-related cancer deaths after asbestos. Unions believe that indentifying safer shift patterns could help tackle the problem.

Further information @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-21075-f0.cfm

Clean water campaign

A new petition-based campaign calling for all EU citizens to have access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation has been launched by the European Federation of Public Service Unions. Currently nearly two million people across the continent lack these basic human amenities.

Further information @

www.right2water.eu

New bank role for Dave Prentis

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis has succeeded Brendan Barber as a non-executive director of the Bank of England.

The three-year term of office started on 1 June. Other new members of the Court, as the governing body of the Bank is known, are former McKinsey partner Bradley Fried and Tim Frost, who spent the majority of his career at J P Morgan.

Following his appointment Dave Prentis said: "It is important that there is a strong voice to represent the experience of ordinary working people who are going through such tough times at the moment.'

More on this @

http://www.unison.org.uk/news/news_view.asp?did=7802

Stan Greaves

Stan Greaves, who played a major role in the development of trade union education during the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 77.

Stan worked for the TUC from 1968 until 1993, when he took early retirement. For most of that period he was in charge of the regional education officers who oversee the delivery of services to unions which equip reps and officers with the skills needed to represent their members.

Events

23 June Reclaim NHS conference

26 June After austerity conference

30 June Netroots UK conference

5-6 July TUC LGBT conference

13-15 July Tolpuddle Martyrs festival

9-12 Sept TUC Congress, Brighton

20 October Future that Works demonstration

More info on TUC events @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/events/index.cfm

New this month

Labour Market Report no.26 - analysis of the state of employment - from Economic & Social Affairs Dept or @ http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-21065-f0.cfm

Details of TUC publications @

http://www.tuc.org.uk/publications/index.cfm

Links

Visit the website of the Working Class Movement Library @ www.wcml.org.uk

Blog of anti-cuts campaign in Manchester @ http://lipsticksocialist.wordpress.com

Please email editor@tuc.org.uk if you wish to suggest a new link for the TUC website.

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