Toggle high contrast

The Big Meeting

Issue date

Last weekend saw the 129th Durham Miners Gala, or the 'big meeting' as it's become known. The popularity of the Gala has grown and grown in recent years, it is literally the biggest trade union gathering in Europe with over 100,000 people descending on the city so closely associated with the heart of the labour movement in the north east. Those who attended can't fail to be inspired and motivated by the whole event.

Arguably this is a key moment for the whole labour movement. Trade Unions are facing an assault from the coalition government that hasn't been experienced for a generation, while at the same time working people are so much under the cosh that they increasingly need unions to stand up against squeezed incomes, diminishing employment rights and increasing vulnerability in the workplace.

In the last two years the situation has deteriorated across the board. At a macroeconomic level the government is failing - even by its own standards, we're borrowing more, the economy is not growing, unemployment (especially in the North East) is rising and there are no signs of recovery.

Public services are disappearing and all workers are facing real terms pay cuts and diminishing standards at work, including attacks on pensions and other terms and conditions. Ahead of the Gala, transport union RMT confirmed that cleaners working for Churchill on the Tyne & Wear Metro will mount a serious escalation of their long running battle for pay and workplace justice when they begin two weeks of strike action in a move that coincides with the iconic Gala.

While the cleaners are told to put up with poverty pay it's a different story in the company boardroom, where their highest paid director has had a salary increase of 18% in the last 5 years. Churchill, working on the Metro for its client DB Regio, has doubled its profits in the past five years and has extracted nearly £7 million from the exploitation of essential cleaning staff on the most basic pay and lousy conditions including no sick pay and none of the travel concession rights enjoyed by other NEXUS workers. The cleaners had a high profile at the Miners Gala where the RMT General Secretary issued a call for the entire trade union movement to mobilise in support of the Metro workforce.

Sadly, the story of the Churchill cleaners resonates with many low paid workers across the region. An increasing number of economists are reaching the conclusion that a rise in the average wage would help boost GDP and contribute to the stability of the financial system, lending further credence to our call that Britain needs a pay rise and proving unions have a legitimate macroeconomic case in favour of higher wages.

Last weekend saw the largest and most public expression of the unity, determination and ambition of the labour movement - trade unions. I am often asked if trade unions are relevant in today's society - and they have never been more so!

Beth Farhat

Regional Secretary

Northern TUC

Enable Two-Factor Authentication

To access the admin area, you will need to setup two-factor authentication (TFA).

Setup now