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Attention: industrial and political correspondents

TUC’s broad agenda for Brighton

Speaking at a briefing after the TUC General Council TUC General Secretary John Monks said:

'Welcome to this traditional post General Council briefing after our last meeting before our annual Congress.

'I know there is one topic of overwhelming interest - the future of the public services, and I would like to say a few words about that in a moment.

'But for us this is far from a one issue congress, we will meet in Brighton with a full agenda. I want to make sure the movement projects its successes and its plans for the future, as well as those issues where we are calling on the government to take action.

'The state of manufacturing is of particular importance. Marconi’s extra job losses is only one of the announcements that have been made in the last few days. Many others have been announced or are in the pipeline. That is why today’s freeze on interest rates is so disappointing. No-one blames the government for the world’s economic difficulties, but we do want to see action to help those regions most affected.

'Congress will also want to celebrate our successes. In particular trade union campaigning throughout Europe has resulted in the new European Information and Consultation Directive. This is a real strategic breakthrough, and holds out the prospect of giving everyone who works for every company that employs more than 50 a voice at work through a works council.

'The government has also let it be known this week that they have dropped their proposals to charge applicants to Employment Tribunals. This is a good result for the TUC’s quiet diplomacy, and will certainly help the atmosphere next week.

'We will also be discussing the Reaching the Missing Millions report which is published for tomorrow morning. It contains useful research and helpful proposals that should help unions continue to grow. But its most challenging - and I think - exciting proposals are that the TUC itself should develop services that reach out to those parts of the economy in which existing unions have not been able to recruit and organise.

'But I know that the future of the public services will be the debate of most interest next week.

'Let me give you my view on how the debate is now shaping up.

'First of all the composite is significant. Those who predicted an argument between unions were wrong, and we have a united position. It certainly reflects widespread concern among unions about the general shape of government policy, and a forthright statement of our support for public services publicly provided by public servants.

'But it avoids fundamentalism. It does not rule out any and every bit of private sector involvement. It recognises that reform is needed, and that the quality of management in public services - whether it comes from the private or public sectors - can leave much to be desired.

'It also represents a programme for engagement with the government, rather than a war of words. And I think I can begin to see some fruits of that engagement already.

'As we reported to the TUC executive last Monday, meetings with both Alan Milburn on the health service and Stephen Byers on Local Government were seen by the unions that were represented as constructive. This is not to say that there are not some difficult issues around in both these areas, but we were certainly reassured that predictions of widespread privatisation or extensive new private sector involvement were wide of the mark. The current intention that all staff in new privately run facilities will remain as NHS staff is significant, although we remain unhappy that any new surgical clinics may be run by the private sector.

'I also believe that yesterday’s Schools White Paper continues that theme. There were those that predicted the government would announce extensive takeovers of schools, and even subject departments, by private sector companies. They were wrong. Private sector companies may still have a role when schools fail, but while unions and local authorities have their problems with this, it is not a new departure, although we are unhappy with plans to open up new schools to the private sector.

'I also think that other education developments are helpful in another way. It is increasingly clear that one of the major obstacles to improving public services is recruitment and retention of quality staff. Pay and conditions of service, workload and esteem are all important elements here. Ministers have begun to respond to this problem as it applies to teachers. I do not want to substitute for the education unions or underplay their critique of some of the educational issues that flow from the White Paper, but the progress on this issue has much wider implications across the public sector

'I am sure that next week unions will have strong words to say in defence of the public service ethos and the public sector. There is no doubt that public sector workers have felt under attack and undervalued since the unfortunate spin put on Labour’s manifesto during the election. There are some issues on which clear disagreements with the government remain - the tube is only one of the most obvious.

'We will remain vigilant and will continue to make the case for quality public services, and to make more progress. I hope that as we extend discussions with ministers then the areas where we can claim reassurance will grow. Ministers need to be able to tell us that private sector involvement is limited and has clear justification other than an ideological preference for the private sector. This could help build on progress already made.

'If ministers can also build on the start that Estelle Morris has made in recognising the importance of recruitment, retention and motivation of public sector staff then I hope that we will be able to go forward together to reinforce the public service ethos, and forge a partnership between public service workers and the government in improving standards for all.

'There is still a lot of suspicion about. It is still going to take a lot of work on both sides. There are still issues of real disagreement. We will not drop our guard. But I am now clear that ministers have been listening and acting on our representations. If we can continue in this vein, then we may be able to help put the government’s difficulties at the beginning of its historic second term behind us.

Notes to Editors:

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Press release (1,200 words) issued 6 Sep 2001