Congress 2004 GPC Report and Composite Motions
Congress 2004 GPC Report and Composite Motions
- SECTION 1 - GPC Report to Congress
- SECTION 2- Congress Tellers and Scrutineers
- SECTION 3 - Composite Motions
SECTION 1 - GPC Report to Congress
Part 1
Agenda
All motions and amendments stand as in the Agenda unless indicated otherwise below. Where composite motions have been agreed and approved by the GPC by 8 September, they are shown in the list below and the text of the composite motion is given in Section 3 of this report.
Composite motions agreed and approved by the GPC after 8 September will be reported to Congress by the GPC and copies circulated to delegates as quickly as possible.
Where movers of motions have agreed to accept published amendments by 8 September, this is stated in the list below. The GPC will report to Congress all instances where published amendments are accepted by the movers of motions after 8 September.
The following is the position at 8 September in respect of motions, amendments and composite motions. Motion numbers are those printed in the Agenda.
1 Organising and Rights at Work
COMPOSITE 1
Fairness at work
1 T&G
...amend CWU
...amend FBU
...amend BFAWU
...amend NUJ
2 GPMU
3 NASUWT
4 NUM
...amend RMT
...amend POA
…………………
COMPOSITE 2
Agency workers
5 UCATT
...amend NATFHE
6 USDAW
…………………
COMPOSITE 3
Union organising
7 SCP
8 T&G
...amend Prospect
9 Connect
…………………
10 GMB STANDS
…………………
11 Black Workers’ Conference STANDS
…………………
2 Equal rights
12 Women’s Conference STANDS
…………………
COMPOSITE 4
Parents, carers and work/life balance
13 USDAW
14 CSP
15 BOS
…………………
16 UNISON STANDS
…………………
17 Accord STANDS
…………………
COMPOSITE 5
Racism and the ‘Redwatch’ site
18 ATL
...amend UNISON
...amend NUT
…………………
19 PFA STANDS
...amend CSP Accepted
…………………
20 LGBT Conference STANDS
…………………
21 Disability Conference STANDS
…………………
COMPOSITE 6
Age discrimination and equality
22 FDA
23 BACM-TEAM
…………………
3 Pensions & Welfare
COMPOSITE 7
Pensions
24 Amicus
...amend T&G
...amend GMB
25 PCS
...amend UNISON
...amend Community
26 NUT
27 TSSA
28 Accord
29 ASLEF
30 UBAC
…………………
COMPOSITE 8
Care of elders
31 CWU
32 CDNA
…………………
4 Economic and Industrial Affairs
COMPOSITE 9
Manufacturing
33 Amicus
...amend GMB
...amend GPMU
...amend BFAWU
…………………
34 CWU OFFICE TO SEEK AGREEMENT
...amend SoR
35 UCATT OFFICE TO SEEK AGREEMENT
36 ACM OFFICE TO SEEK AGREEMENT
...amend FDA
…………………
COMPOSITE 10
Public services
37 UNISON
...amend PCS
38 EIS
39 FBU
...amend FBU
40 AMO
…………………
COMPOSITE 11
Civil service
41 PCS
...amend CWU
...amend NUT
42 Prospect
43 FDA
44 AMO
…………………
COMPOSITE 12
Future of health and public policy
45 CSP
...amend FDA
46 SoR
…………………
47 SoR STANDS
...amend AUT Accepted
…………………
48 CDNA STANDS
…………………
49 SCP STANDS
…………………
50 NUT STANDS
...amend NASUWT Accepted
…………………
51 NASUWT Stands
…………………
COMPOSITE 13
Education
52 ATL
53 EIS
54 NAEIAC
55 AEP
…………………
56 BDA STANDS
...amend ATL Accepted
…………………
57 AUT STANDS
...amend NATFHE Accepted
…………………
COMPOSITE 14
Transport
58 RMT
...amend NUMAST
59 TSSA
60 ASLEF
…………………
61 NUMAST STANDS
…………………
62 URTU STANDS
...amend T&G Accepted
…………………
COMPOSITE 15
Energy and environment
63 Prospect
64 Community
65 NUM
...amend Amicus
66 BACM-TEAM
…………………
COMPOSITE 16
BBC Charter renewal and public
service broadcasting
67 BECTU
...amend Equity
68 WGGB
69 NUJ
71 Equity
…………………
70 WGGB STANDS
...amend BECTU Accepted
…………………
72 MU STANDS
…………………
73 Equity STANDS
...amend MU Accepted
…………………
74 POA STANDS
…………………
75 POA STANDS
…………………
76 napo STANDS
...amend POA Accepted
...amend napo Accepted
…………………
5 Europe
COMPOSITE 17
Europe
77 RMT
...amend NUM
...Additional amendments submitted by the following unions have been grouped in an amendment:
NASUWT
GPMU
Community
Accord
BACM-TEAM
…………………
78 BALPA STANDS
…………………
6 International
79 AUT STANDS
...amend UCATT Accepted
...amend CSP Accepted
…………………
80 NUJ STANDS
...amend ATL Accepted
…………………
81 Community STANDS
...amend TSSA Accepted
...amend napo Accepted
…………………
82 NATFHE STANDS
...amend UCATT Accepted
...amend TSSA Accepted
…………………
83 FBU STANDS
…………………
7 Learning, Skills and TUC Education
COMPOSITE 18
Learning, skills and TUC Education
84 GPMU
...amend USDAW
85 BECTU
86 NATFHE
...amend ACM
87 Connect
88 ACM
…………………
8 Protecting people at work
COMPOSITE 19
Health and safety at work
89 GMB
...amend Amicus
...amend USDAW
...amend PCS
...amend BECTU
90 napo
...amend Prospect
...amend RMT
...amend NUM
…………………
91 BALPA STANDS
…………………
92 MU STANDS
…………………
93 BDA STANDS
...amend ACM Accepted
Part 2
Introductions & presentations
The GPC have approved the following speeches and presentations by the General Secretary, sororal and fraternal delegates and special guests:
Monday afternoon
General Secretary’s address
Rt Hon. Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
Tuesday morning
Harold A. Schaitberger, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations fraternal delegate
(up to 10 minutes)
Tuesday afternoon
Amir Peretz, General Secretary, Histadrut, General Federation of Labour in Israel
(up to 10 minutes)
Wednesday morning
Mary Turner, Labour Party sororal delegate
(up to 10 minutes)
Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary, Congress of South African Trade Unions
(up to 10 minutes)
Wednesday afternoon
Shaher Sa’ed, General Secretary, Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions
(up to 10 minutes)
Hernando Hernandez, General Secretary, Colombian Workers’ Confederation
(up to 10 minutes)
Lord Coe
(up to 15 minutes)
Thursday morning
Pedro Ross, General Secretary, Cuban Workers’ Centre
(up to 10 minutes)
On Monday afternoon the format of the Congress awards will include a video presentation.
On Tuesday morning there will be a special discussion panel on pensions that will include the General Secretary and Christine Farnish, the Chief Executive of the National Association of Pension Funds, facilitated by the broadcaster Jane Bennett-Powell.
On Tuesday afternoon the Deputy General Secretary will introduce and present the TUC Equalities Awards.
On Tuesday afternoon, there will a presentation on learning and skills, featuring a video and a speech by the Rt Hon. Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, who will also participate in a question and answer session.
On Wednesday afternoon there will be a special session featuring migrant worker members of trade unions introduced by Felicity Lawrence of the Guardian.
On Wednesday afternoon there will be a video on Colombia, immediately preceding the address of Hernando Hernandez of the Colombian Workers’ Confederation.
Part 3
Nominations
After the final agenda was issued, it was reported to the GPC that Tim Poil, a candidate in the election for Section C of the General Council wished to withdraw his nomination. The GPC approved this request.
It was reported to the GPC that Michael Leahy of Community was unable to attend the Congress due to family illness and Brian Orrell of NUMAST was also unlikely to be able to attend due to a prior commitment for the International Labour Organisation. Both Michael Leahy and Brian Orrell are candidates in the election for Section C of the General Council. In accordance with past practice in these circumstances, the GPC have confirmed that their candidacies stand.
Part 4
Ballots
The ballot for General Council sections C, E, H, I and J (the candidates in sections D, F and G are elected unopposed) will take place on Tuesday, along with the ballot for the General Purposes Committee.
Ballot papers may be collected from 9 am on Tuesday from the Scrutineers at the desk outside the TUC stand. The stand is situated in the ground floor exhibition area just inside the main front doors of the Brighton Centre. Ballot papers will only be provided in exchange for the official delegate form. The ballot closes at noon on Tuesday.
Delegates are reminded that in casting their union’s votes, the total number of votes allocated to your union should be written in against the name(s) of the candidate(s) you wish to support. The number of votes allocated to each union is printed on the ballot paper. The result of the ballot will be announced towards the end of the Tuesday afternoon session.
Part 5
Standing orders
Delegates are reminded of Rule 26 governing speaking times during Congress which permits the following speaking times:
- movers of motions up to five minutes;
- seconders of motions and all subsequent speakers up to three minutes.
A system of warning lights will be used with a green light showing at the beginning of a speaker’s allowed time. This will change to amber one minute from the end of the allowed time and to red at the end of the allowed time. If the speaker continues when the red light is showing, a bell will ring.
Delegates are asked to co-operate fully with the rules on speaking times and to give their names and the names of their unions before they begin their speeches.
Part 6
Delegations
In line with previous decisions and in view of the fact that Amicus and Unifi were due to complete their proposed merger before Congress, agreement had been given that the two unions should be treated as a single entity. However, shortly before the Amicus-Unifi merger was due to be completed a challenge was received by the Certification Officer and, as a result, the merger has now been put on hold and the unions have been advised that they should continue, for the time being, to operate as separate entities. This means that the previous agreement cannot stand and that for the purposes of Congress, including nominations, motions and delegations, the two unions will continue to be treated as separate bodies.
Part 7
General Purposes Committee
Stan Cooke has resigned as a member of the GPC due to ill-health. As the candidate with the next highest number of votes, John McGarry has filled the vacant place on the GPC.
General Purposes Committee
Gerry Veart (Chair)
Danny Carrigan (Secretary)
Peter Hall
John McGarry
Annette Place
SECTION 2- Congress Tellers and Scrutineers
Tellers
Sharif Abbas (T&G)
Sam Bechler (ATL)
Vicky Knight (FBU)
Sonia Kordiak (EIS)
Mick Mannion (Community)
Jean Rogers (Equity)
Pat Rowland (UNISON)
Scrutineers
Freddie Brown (Prospect)
Kathy Duggan (NASUWT)
Lesley Mansell (Amicus)
Don McGregor (GMB)
Marilyn Morris (Accord)
Ron Rodwell (CWU)
Mark Winchester (RMT)
SECTION 3 - Composite Motions
C1
Fairness at work
Motions 1 and amendments, 2, 3, and 4 and amendments
Congress welcomes the advances made by this Labour Government, but is extremely concerned at the failure to repeal Tory anti-union laws and to honour commitments given whilst in opposition. This at a time when trade union members continue to face constant attacks and intimidation in the workplace without firm and proper protection from employment law.
The Government should recognise the positive contribution that trade unions make to society and should make an explicit commitment in the manifesto that they will assist union growth. Congress calls on the Labour Government to afford our members at least the same benefits as are afforded to our colleagues in the wider international trade union movement and provide fairness at work for every member of our movement.
Congress welcomes the changes within the Employment Relations Bill to address some problems and anomalies in the 1999 Employment Relations Act.
However, Congress is deeply disappointed that the proposed changes will not address the fundamental weaknesses within the existing employment legislation. Congress therefore calls on the General Council to continue to press the Government to improve and build on the present framework of employment legislation.
Congress believes that the next Labour Government must prioritise a positive framework of legislation, which will conform to the UK’s obligations under ILO Conventions and the European Social Charter, including:
i) providing the right for every employee to be represented individually and collectively by a trade union, regardless of the size of the workplace - there should be an extension of recognition laws to include small firms;
ii) the removal of restrictive ballot thresholds and the right to individual representation in every workplace;
iii) training and pensions should be included as a bargaining issue under statutory recognition procedures;
iv) restoring ACAS’s duty in promoting collective bargaining as one step towards restoration of the UK’s international law duty to promote collective bargaining - the Government must commit to restoration of national sectoral bargaining;
v) providing employment rights from day one for unfair dismissal and redundancy;
vi) providing paid time off for family-friendly leave;
vii) guaranteeing a right to reinstatement where recommended by an employment tribunal in cases of unfair dismissal;
viii) strengthening protection for migrant workers;
ix) ensuring the right to take industrial action in accordance with ILO Conventions;
x) protecting from dismissal workers taking lawful strike action including secondary action, with interim relief beyond eight weeks;
xi) amending insolvency law to protect workers’ pensions and rights;
xii) requiring that all contractors (and sub-contractors) to public bodies (and private bodies with public functions) abide by a fair employment clause;
xiii) repealing the obligation to hold ten-yearly political fund review ballots;
xiv) ensuring company directors are properly liable for cases of corporate killing;
xv) legally obliging employers to run equal pay audits; and
xvi) repealing the sections of the Fire Services Act 2003 and those in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 which give the Government powers to undermine collective bargaining by imposing pay and conditions in the fire and rescue service in contravention of ILO conventions and the European Social Charter.
Congress deplores the negative attitude adopted by the Government towards European Directives, thus excluding many workers in the UK from the same entitlement to decent workplace rights enjoyed in other parts of the EU.
Congress therefore calls on the Government to support the development of EU employment rights, including the passage and proper implementation of the Posting of Workers Directive and the Temporary Agency Workers Directive (complete with full equal treatment provisions).
In addition, the Government should end the individual opt-out from the Working Time Directive including in the transport sector and prevent employers including bank/public holidays as part of the statutory four weeks’ leave.
Congress calls on the General Council to campaign for reform of the British insolvency and administration laws in order to better protect jobs and pensions and to help reduce the cost burden of the administration process, drawing on the best of US and European practice.
Congress is alarmed at the increasing undermining of internal trade union democracy by the operation of sections 64, 65 and Chapter VIIA of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992.
Congress notes the significant barriers to internal disciplinary action against members who fail to adhere to union rules, and the waste of trade union resources arising from ill-conceived and vexatious complaints to employment tribunals of unjustifiable discipline.
Congress is concerned by the impediment to legitimate trade union activity arising from the ability of disaffected members to use complaints to the Certification Officer about alleged breaches of trade union rules to distract from and disrupt the service to other members.
Congress asserts the right of trade unions to be self-governing organisations and calls upon the General Council to commission an urgent review of the effects and impact on trade union organisation of:
a) sections 64 and 65 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations(Consolidation)Act 1992 and related case law as established through employment tribunals; and
b) complaints to the Certification Officer of alleged breaches of union rules.
Subject to the outcome of the review, Congress calls upon the General Council to formulate proposals for the repeal of the appropriate sections of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and to campaign for such reform.
Congress reaffirms its policy of the repeal of anti-trade union laws and calls on the General Council to organise a national rally and lobby of Parliament for trade union and employment rights at the earliest possible opportunity, to demand UK law is brought in line with ILO conventions.
Mover:
Transport and General Workers’ Union
Seconder:
Graphical Paper and Media Union
Supporters:
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
National Union of Mineworkers
Communication Workers’ Union
Fire Brigades’ Union
Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union
National Union of Journalists
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
Prison Officers’ Association
C2
Agency workers
Motions 5 and amendment, and 6
Congress notes the lack of progress towards the adoption of an EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive in the last 12 months. The failure to adopt a Directive means that thousands of agency workers do not enjoy the same employment rights as other workers.
Congress congratulates the TUC on its ‘Working on the Edge’ campaign which has drawn attention to this issue. Congress urges continued pressure on the Government to withdraw from the alliance of countries blocking the progress of the EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive.
Congress is appalled by the often illegal working and living conditions of agency workers, many of whom are migrant workers, in particular cases of agencies charging fees, inserting penalty clauses and making illegal deductions from wages. Illegal pay and conditions often combine with a failure to abide by basic health and safety standards, jeopardising agency workers and others in the workforce.
Congress calls on the Government to:
i) implement the Temporary Agency Workers Directive at the earliest opportunity;
ii) drop the demand for a qualifying period before employment rights apply to agency workers in the proposed EU Agency Workers Directive in order to include the greatest number of agency workers, especially young workers;
iii) introduce a system of licensing for all employment agencies and increase the resources available to government enforcement officers so that any agency flouting the law may be successfully prosecuted;
iv) extend employment protection rights for all agency workers as part of the Section 23 review of employment status; and
v) introduce protection for whistleblowers so that any worker whose immigration status is unclear can make a complaint about an agency and not be immediately threatened with deportation.
Congress notes the significance for unions organising agency workers of the ECJ decision in Allonby which potentially opens public sector pension schemes to predominantly female agency workers. Congress calls on the Government to legislate for equal access to occupational pensions schemes for agency workers and will brief affiliates on developments.
Congress also calls on the Government to rigorously enforce existing legislation on employment agencies to ensure workers receive:
a) their full rights, including the minimum wage;
b) no illegal deductions from wages;
c) no charges for finding employment;
d) accommodation meeting minimum standards; and
e) proper training and health and safety awareness for each placement.
Congress calls on the General Council to develop a campaigning strategy which intensifies the ‘Working on the Edge’ campaign to support the above policy objectives and calls on all unions to reach out to agency workers in unionised and non-unionised workplaces to ensure their rights are respected and to campaign for equal terms and conditions to staff who are directly employed.
Mover:
Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
Seconder:
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Supporter:
NATFHE - The University and College Lecturers’ Union
C3
Union organising
Motions 7, 8 and amendment, and 9
Congress notes the trade union movement has begun to stem membership decline and has signed thousands of new recognition agreements since the introduction of statutory recognition. However, only 36 per cent of the workforce is covered by collective bargaining.
It is vital that the TUC should measure itself by how well it helps unions to win in the workplace and to bring more people into unions.
Congress believes that building membership and organisation is the most urgent priority for the coming year. Unions do not exist simply to recruit new members, but unless we grow in numbers we cannot grow in influence with employers, the government or other agencies. A growing union movement is the most effective way of eliminating unfairness at work and improving the working lives of our members.
We must also extend organisation beyond traditional areas and in particular increase membership and bargaining across the private sector. The TUC is highly regarded as providing an excellent range of services to affiliates and their members in terms of education, advice and research, to name just a few. Congress is aware, however, that some affiliates take into their membership self-employed individuals, for example podiatrists who are private practitioners. These workers have somewhat different needs to employees, yet are still keen to play an active role in their trade union. Congress calls on the General Council to investigate the needs of this group of members with a view to provide, where necessary, additional services.
Growth based on active organising and other member-centred campaigns is also the most effective way of building a positive profile with people at work and the wider public.
Congress recognises that such growth demands a fundamental review of how unions use their resources. Focusing resources within a democratic structure, rather than consuming resources within a bureaucratic one, will release time, money and people to concentrate on the organising challenge. This is an essential investment in our future. Increasing membership and organisation may also require unions to reshape traditional structures to encourage participation and new forms of activism, built around key roles and functions within the workplace.
Congress therefore calls on the General Council to:
i) build organising into everything we do;
ii) conduct a comprehensive review of the resources available to the trade union movement to organise, and of how to increase this pool of resources;
iii) help make all unions ‘organising unions’ - with support and training for union representatives and officers;
iv) explore how best unions and the TUC can use new technology to support union efforts to organise and keep members;
v) make the TUC Organising Academy flexible enough to assist a wider range of affiliates, and union organising academies;
vi) develop a one-movement approach to organising, strengthening the TUC’s role in enhancing positive inter-union relations and removing harmful competition - the TUC should examine all its functions to see how effort can be directed to helping unions grow;
vii) make a reality of our commitment to organise beyond our current areas of strength - reaching out to ‘new’ workers (migrant workers, agency workers) and ‘new’ jobs (poorly organised workplaces and sectors);
viii) urge the Government to acknowledge the positive contribution of unions by taking measures to remove obstacles to working people joining unions;
ix) make the promotion of the positive benefits and role of trade unionism central to the work of the TUC; and
x) explore ways of encouraging and facilitating trade unionism amongst students and young people.
Congress calls upon all unions to:
a) shift and target resources towards systematic organising campaigns;
b) train and encourage reps to take on organising work;
c) audit all activities in terms of their organising impact;
d) use appropriate organising objectives to manage and review these campaigns; and
e) make full use of the organising opportunities provided by the Information and Consultation Regulations.
Mover:
Transport and General Workers’ Union
Seconder:
Connect
Supporters:
Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists
Prospect
C4
Parents, carers and work/life balance
Motions 13, 14 and 15
Congress recognises that all workers have responsibilities and interests outside work and many workers, particularly women, are carers of children or dependent relatives. Congress warmly welcomes the Labour Government’s commitment to helping parents and carers balance work and family life and the important measures already taken such as the significant increases that have been made since April 2003 in paid maternity leave, the introduction of paid paternity and adoption leave, and the ongoing investment in childcare and early years services and the announcement that the right to request flexible working will be extended to carers.
Congress believes that effective practices to promote work/life balance will benefit businesses, their workforce and society. Employers and unions have a joint responsibility to develop workable solutions that meet the needs of the business and all employees. Congress notes the successes of a number of union-negotiated flexible working packages in both the public and the private sector.
Congress is alarmed that at the current rates of Statutory Maternity Pay, many women on maternity leave are earning less than the minimum wage. Government needs to give a high priority to income replacement, without which rights such as parental leave and time off for dependants are meaningless to low-paid workers. Parents must be given support to be able to make genuine choices about how to balance work and family responsibilities.
Congress urges the General Council to support affiliates’ campaigns in this area and in particular to take an active role in campaigning for:
i) paid parental leave; and
ii) for maternity pay to be paid for 52 weeks rather than the current 26 weeks.
Congress notes recent EOC research showing that a high proportion of parents and carers said that their voting intentions would be influenced by government policy and provisions on work/life balance. Congress, therefore, believes it is in the interests of both the current Government and working people that more is done to enable working men and women to balance work and family life better.
Congress therefore calls on the Government to introduce a right to:
a) paid parental leave which is flexible and targeted at both mothers and fathers; and
b) work flexibly for parents and carers of dependent relatives.
Congress also calls on the Government to:
1) increase SMP and Maternity Allowance to ensure a decent income for mothers in the first six months of the child’s life;
2) increase paternity leave time and allow it to be taken flexibly; and
3) increase Statutory Paternity Pay to 90 per cent of average earnings and introduce a Paternity Allowance along the same lines as Maternity Allowance.
Congress believes that, as part of the Government’s strategy to eradicate child poverty, more must be done to ensure that children do not spend their early years in poverty. The Government’s childcare and early years strategy must include the very early years of the child’s life and also ensure that large families on low incomes have access to adequate Government support for childcare. Congress urges the Government to reform the tax credits system so that support is offered per child and is not heavily weighted in favour of families with just one or two children.
Workers have a right to lifelong learning opportunities and time to participate in civil society. Congress believes that, in particular, the Government must provide adequate social protection for all workers who take time out of the labour market or work part time, as the gender pay gap is in part attributable to the low value attached to part-time work. The voluntary approach to equal pay has failed to close the pay gap and the Government should introduce mandatory equal pay reviews. Employment Tribunals should be given a statutory role in enforcing equal pay awards and should be allowed to hear representative claims on behalf of groups of workers.
Congress calls on the Government to introduce:
A) mandatory equal pay reviews; and
B) representative actions in the Employment Tribunals.
Congress calls on the General Council to campaign for and develop training for union officers and reps in negotiating flexible working packages.
Mover:
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Seconder:
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
Supporter:
British Orthoptic Society
C5
Racism and the ‘Redwatch’ site
Motion 18 and amendments
Congress, noting that the BBC documentary the Secret Agent revealed that the BNP target trade union officials and use the ‘Redwatch’ internet site to intimidate anti-racist and anti-fascist campaigners, and bearing in mind the TUC’s ‘Unite Against Racism’ campaign, calls upon the TUC General Council to:
i) press the Home Secretary and other relevant authorities for the immediate closure of such sites;
ii) fully and immediately support any affiliate whose members risk intimidation as a consequence of far-right internet activity;
iii) offer urgent advice and guidance to affiliates on this issue;
iv) continue to campaign against the BNP in local communities, through the regional TUCs and at a national level in the run-up to the General Election; and
v) campaign for legislation to enable unions to deny membership to those belonging to racist and fascist organisations.
Congress, believing that the educational policies of far right groups threaten the multi-cultural ethos of schools and colleges, agrees to focus on education as part of its ongoing campaign.
Mover:
Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Seconder:
UNISON
Supporter:
National Union of Teachers
C6
Age discrimination & equality
Motions 22 and 23
Congress welcomes the potential for the new age equality legislation to help eliminate unfair age-based treatment of workers and those undertaking training or further and higher education.
However, Congress is still disappointed at the failure of the Government to bring forward a comprehensive overhaul of equality legislation and a Single Equality Act providing an upward harmonisation of standards of protection across all equality grounds.
Congress urges all parties to include such a Single Equality Act in their manifesto and first programme of legislation if elected.
Congress is deeply concerned that if the Government sets a statutory fixed age at which all employers are able to force workers to retire then employers will defer pension entitlements to align with that age.
Congress is disappointed that the Government is proposing to reduce the compensation available to those aged over 41 years of age from 1.5 weeks’ pay per year of service to 1 week’s pay per year of service. This contrasts with the practice in other countries, for example Ireland, where similar arrangements have been harmonised upwards.
Congress further believes that this proposal is in breach of the original European Directive 2000/78/EC Article 8: ‘The implementation of this Directive shall under no circumstances constitute grounds for a reduction in the level of protection against discrimination already afforded by member states in the fields covered by this Directive.’
Congress calls upon the Government to alter its proposals to protect compensation arrangements for older workers.
Furthermore, Congress calls upon the General Council and all affiliated unions to campaign for the new age equality regulations and related legislative changes to address the following:
i) unfair dismissal and redundancy awards should not be age-based and must not be levelled down for any workers;
ii) the Government should prohibit age discrimination on access to pension schemes, and allow workers aged 18 to 21 to claim the full adult rate of the National Minimum Wage; and
iii) there must be a specific provision in the legislation that its introduction must not lead to a reduction in the level of protection or benefits for workers.
Mover:
FDA
Seconder:
BACM-TEAM
C7
Pensions
Motions 24 and amendments, 25 and amendments, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30
Congress welcomes the campaigning undertaken by the TUC and affiliated unions to defend and improve members’ pension benefits in the public and private sectors to achieve an improved and durable framework of pension provision for all workers. The marches helped secure publicity for the campaign to defend pensions. The rally was supported by all age groups and covered a demand for the return to a decent state pension and employer-related occupational pension provision.
Congress reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the occupational pensions’ benefits of members and preventing arbitrary and unjustified reductions in benefits. Congress opposes the "work till you drop" approach of employers and government and is particularly concerned about the closure and erosion of occupational pension schemes and the replacement of defined benefit schemes with money purchase schemes. Congress believes that, after retirement, all employees should receive a pension income that bears a decent relationship to their pay.
Congress deplores the ongoing discrimination against women in both state and occupational schemes. Congress calls on the Government to overcome the barriers to pensions for the lowest paid and women.
Congress welcomes government measures encouraging occupational pensions and making them more secure, but recognises that such measures will not result in any major increase in pension contributions. Congress believes that employers who make no voluntary pension contributions, or make only small contributions, enjoy an unfair competitive advantage compared to employers who make a decent level of contribution, and that this condemns their employees to an impoverished retirement.
Therefore Congress calls for new legislation to compel all employers to make a contribution to their employees’ second pension of a minimum of 10 per cent of earnings; for all employees to make a minimum contribution of 5 per cent of earnings; and for a reform of tax relief on pension contributions to share it more equally, so as to provide much greater assistance to the lower-paid.
Congress calls on the Government to commit to securing a basis for decent pensions for all employees by extending compulsion, and to re-direct the Pension Commission and its policy focus beyond the question of whether compulsion is needed to how best it can quickly be implemented.
Congress deeply regrets the proposed compulsory increase in the public sector pension age to 65, and notes that many civil and public servants whose jobs are contracted out are forcibly removed from their occupational pension scheme, even when they continue to do the same job. In addition Congress calls on the Government to call a halt to the proposed changes in 2005 to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Congress reinforces standing TUC policy that no employees should be compelled to work beyond their current ‘normal retirement age’. Congress notes that there are some members of occupational pension schemes who wish to continue working for the same employer after their normal retirement age as a matter of choice and their employers value their continuing contribution. However, Congress is concerned that, when this choice is exercised, current Inland Revenue regulations make it impossible for the employee to draw their pension in addition to their continuing salary. This is an unfair and anomalous situation because if the employee moved to another employer they would be able to enjoy the benefit of their pension and receive a second income from their continued employment.
Whilst recognising that this is not the greatest injustice in UK pensions legislation, Congress nevertheless calls upon the General Council to lobby HM Government to have this anomaly removed
Congress calls upon the Government to include pensions as a transferable benefit under TUPE regulations, and calls for the introduction of mandatory admitted body status agreements into all public sector contracts, to ensure full legal pensions protection and guarantee continued access to their existing pension scheme (or one with at least equivalent benefits) for public sector workers transferred to the private sector. Every time this issue has been raised at Congress the Government have made encouraging statements whilst failing to put the problem right. If the Government wishes to instill confidence in the future of pensions as a viable retirement vehicle then it must act now.
Congress urges the Government to face up to the crisis, and agrees to step up its campaign to deliver adequate state and occupational pensions for all including:
i) a universal state pension at a level which obviates the need for additional means tested pension benefits which increases each year in line with prices or earnings, whichever is the greater;
ii) secure additional pension provision through effective support and encouragement of occupational pension provision in which the costs are shared equitably between employers and employees and continue to defend and promote final salary pension schemes within the public and private sectors;
iii) improved state pension provision for workers without access to occupational pension schemes;
iv) campaigning to secure sufficient retirement income for all workers;
v) working with the EOC on tackling discrimination against women in retirement and eliminating all remaining forms of discrimination within schemes, including on grounds of sexual orientation and marital status;
vi) ensuring at least 50 per cent of trustees are member nominated;
vii) campaigning to ensure the Pensions Protection Fund and the welcome Financial Assistance Scheme introduced by the Government to assist members are adequately funded;
viii) making pensions a bargaining issue and providing TUPE protection for pensions;
ix) resisting the imposition of a common pension age of 65 across the public sector; and
x) supporting unions in their individual and collective fight on pensions, coordinating appropriate support for industrial action by affiliates, and strengthening cooperation with the pensioners’ organisations in order to mobilise effective and appropriate campaign activities and further action including a national pensions day, and exerting maximum pressure on every constituency MP, as well as employers and the Government.
Congress notes the increased levels of uncertainty amongst workers on pension issues, which is largely related to a lack of general awareness on pension issues together with the unenthusiastic approach of many employers to defined benefit pension schemes. Congress is concerned that many workers may inadvertently make inappropriate decisions in respect of securing their income in retirement.
Congress believes that this situation would be alleviated by introducing a network of lay pension representatives which would mirror current arrangements for staff, health and safety, and learning representatives. Specifically, Congress views the role of pension representatives as including:
a) increasing awareness of pension issues amongst union members in their workplace;
b) acting as a conduit for members’ concerns and relaying these to existing pensions trustees and committees;
c) drawing individual members’ attention to the fund rules which affect them and helping members interpret the rules;
d) in a similar way, and where appropriate, directing members to sources of information about state benefits; and
e) supporting members in forming questions to the pension fund or personal financial advisors, and in interpreting replies.
Congress calls on the General Council to press the Government to support the principles of pensions representatives as suggested and to establish procedures for their appointment, training and release.
Congress agrees that the bedrock of pension provision is the state pension. To this Government’s shame they have refused to ‘restore the link’. Pensioners who have only the state pension to rely on are openly critical of the changes in pension provision that include the minimum guarantee and the pensioners’ credit. They believe that these means-tested benefits are totally unfair and inadequate. Congress therefore commits to continue to vigorously campaign for the restoration of the link.
Congress requests the General Council to continue to work in close cooperation with, and hold meetings with, affiliated unions, the NPC and pensioner organisations in its campaigning and other activities to achieve the above objectives.
Mover:
Amicus
Seconder:
Public and Commercial Services Union
Supporters:
National Union of Teachers
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association
Accord
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers
and Firemen
UBAC
Transport and General Workers’ Union
GMB
Unison
Community
C8
Care of elders
Motions 31 and 32
Congress agrees that all retired workers should be able to enjoy an active and secure retirement. To achieve this aim, government must be reminded that the vast majority of retired people have contributed to the welfare state since its inception, and were at that time, under a Labour Government, promised free all-round health and social care from the cradle to the grave. In a country that is now the fourth richest in the world, far richer than when this promise was made in the 1940s, retired workers have seen that commitment eroded by successive governments.
Community and district nurses are continually encountering elder abuse whilst carrying out their everyday duties. The CDNA have identified that their members feel unsupported. In particular, the abuse of medication is a major concern.
Congress therefore commits to:
i) call on the General Council to urge the Government to ensure that the checks in place are standardised and made stricter to ensure that the abuse of medication is identified and eradicated;
ii) campaign vigorously for the full implementation of the Sutherland Report which recommended free long-term care for older people;
iii) encourage retired workers to become active participants in patient and pensioner forums;
iv) press local MPs to continue opposition to foundation hospitals which will lead to the privatisation of the NHS;
v) oppose the closure of nursing and residential homes for the elderly through appropriate campaigns involving the unions, councillors and community organisations; and
vi) publicise campaigns, rallies and activities organised by the National Pensioners Convention, encouraging retired workers to take an active role in these events.
Mover:
Communication Workers’ Union
Seconder:
Community and District Nursing Association
C9
Manufacturing
Motion 33 and amendments
Congress acknowledges the vital contribution that the UK manufacturing sector makes to the UK economy and calls upon the General Council and the Government to place the maintenance of a viable and sustainable manufacturing sector at the top of their economic agenda.
Congress views with alarm the loss of over three million manufacturing jobs from the British economy since 1979, noting that the quality of replacement jobs available, and the level of earnings, does little to support the Government’s stated aim of achieving a high-skilled, added value workforce.
Congress believes that there is no evidence to suggest that employment regulation has a detrimental effect on investment and jobs, and believes that until UK workers are offered a truly level playing field of employment rights and social planning, the UK manufacturing sector will lose out through off-shoring.
Congress believes that in order to make manufacturing industry work more effectively it is important that the EU Directive on Information and Consultation is fully implemented to give UK workers the same rights as other EU workers to proper consultation prior to important decisions being made by companies.
Congress is concerned at ‘below-cost selling’ by many major food retailers. The system should recognise both the needs of consumers and the pressures on food manufacturers, farmers, suppliers and their employees. We welcome the OFT’s work on a supermarket code of practice but believe that firmer action is now needed.
Congress calls upon the Government to develop a more proactive and positive manufacturing strategy. To this end, Congress calls upon the Government to:
i) appoint a cabinet minister for manufacturing;
ii) intervene against grant-aided companies implementing closures;
iii) set up a dedicated investment fund for manufacturing industry with increased state support;
iv) end social dumping in Europe through a level playing field on employment rights;
v) promote a procurement strategy which safeguards UK jobs and skills and fund a competitive export credit guarantee system;
vi) create co-ordinated industrial clusters that develop a coherent response to specific procurement issues;
vii) fully implement in the UK the recently adopted EU public procurement directives to include a legal obligation on contracting authorities to consider social, employment, disability and environmental issues when awarding public contracts; and
viii) encourage greater investment in skills and training by employers.
Congress calls upon the TUC General Council actively to campaign for these demands.
Mover:
Amicus
Seconder:
Graphical, Paper and Media Union
Supporters:
GMB
Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union
C10
Public services
Motions 37 and amendment, 38, 39 and amendment, and 40
Congress commends the Government for its commitment to high quality public services and the sustained and historically high levels of investment in UK terms in state education and health.
But Congress notes that much of this increased public investment will be creamed off to pay super-profits to the private contractors involved in PFI and PPP projects rather than used to improve frontline service delivery to the public.
Congress reiterates its opposition to the continued pursuit of privatisation and increased marketisation of our public services, despite increasing evidence that privatisation is more expensive, detrimental to service delivery and creates significant inequalities.
Congress believes that increased marketisation threatens the public service ethos and undermines democracy and accountability.
Congress condemns the lack of consultation with the TUC and trade unions prior to the publication of the five-year plans on health and education and condemns the massive job cuts across the civil service. Congress also strongly opposes government policies which involve public service job cuts to finance government spending plans - better public services require more and better trained public servants not fewer.
Congress notes with concern the new agenda on ‘choice’ and totally rejects an agenda which seeks to undermine universality and increase long-term private sector involvement in the provision of our public services.
Congress notes Siemen’s plans to offshore National Savings work to India. This would be the first central government work to be off-shored with serious implications for other workers, security, democratic control and accountability. Congress calls on the Government not to extend the NS&I contract if it involves offshoring.
Congress calls on the Government to honour the unequivocal promise made by the prime minister in October 2001 to end the two-tier workforce across our public services and the General Council to:
i) use all forums to raise our concerns with government, particularly the lack of consultation on proposed reforms;
ii) lobby for a fair wages clause in all public contracting; and a skills dowry for every public sector worker;
iii) continue its opposition to the privatisation of our public services and the use of PFI and PPPs and campaign to highlight the manifest failure of the private sector to deliver decent public services, to the Government and the public; and
iv) campaign within the ETUC against privatisation and, in particular, the services Directive.
Congress calls on the Government to extend its commitment to public sector excellence by introducing a new and greatly improved funding formula for the UK fire and rescue service. Such a formula is urgently needed to:
a) ensure that new local risk-assessed management plans are adequately financed to meet the objective of zero fire deaths in the UK; and
b) maintain a network of emergency fire control centres based in local communities and managed by elected fire authorities.
Congress also notes with concern the quality of many newly built and refurbished schools delivered through Public-Private Partnership and Private Finance Initiative schemes, in particular the effects of the provision of inadequate facilities on teaching and learning.
Congress is also concerned at the widespread lack of any meaningful consultation with teachers and others in the school community at the design stage of these PPP/PFI schemes resulting in schools which cannot deliver the best possible facilities for pupils, teachers or other school users.
Congress believes that it is essential to involve all stakeholders in the initial development of the brief and in the resolution of any subsequent problems which arise during the actual construction or refurbishment phase.
Congress, therefore, calls upon all responsible public authorities to ensure that all school building and refurbishment programmes:
1) involve the fullest possible consultation with, and involvement of, all interested parties, both in the development of the brief and its fulfilment;
2) are designed and delivered to meet the needs of the users, rather than the providers, particularly in relation to the needs of 21st century education and reduced class sizes; and
3) are furnished in a manner which genuinely and demonstrably provides best value for the public purse in the long term.
Congress opposes the ongoing privatisation of large swathes of our public services through PFI, market-testing and most recently ‘contestability’ in the prison and probation services.
Congress notes that work in restructuring to deliver joined-up justice is constantly undermined, for example by proposals to introduce the National Offender Management Service out of the prison and probation services, by fragmenting previously cohesive services into a range of contracts. Congress is concerned by further potential privatisation of core areas of criminal justice work such as enforcement of fines and security of court buildings.
Congress rejects:
A) the opportunity to make profits out of the justice system and particularly
incarceration of offenders; and
B) allowing private sector enforcement agencies, outside any direct democratic public sector control, powers to force entry into homes, forcibly search people and have access to primary sources of data.
Mover:
Unison
Seconder:
Educational Institute of Scotland
Supporters:
Fire Brigades’ Union
AMO
Public and Commercial Services Union
C11
Civil service
Motions 41 and amendments, 42, 43 & 44
Congress condemns government plans to cut over 104,000 jobs from the civil and public services and to seek massive so-called 'efficiency savings'.
These cuts were announced without adequate justification and with insufficient consultation with the unions about the impact on members’ jobs and their families, career aspirations, rights to equal opportunity, and terms and conditions and were based on targets set by ministers with insufficient consideration of corresponding reductions in workload.
Congress welcomes the continuing high level of investment in UK public services and recognises the importance of ensuring that public spending is allocated in a manner that delivers the maximum benefit to all and achieves value for money.
Congress opposes public sector reforms which result in poorer services and lead to cuts in public sector jobs. Congress is concerned that the Gershon Efficiency Review will result in cuts to essential functions, including regulation, law enforcement, national security, public health and safety. The Lyons Review of Public Sector Relocation appears to be more about helping government cut the wage bill than improving standards of service.
Congress notes that these cuts will severely damage service delivery, with the public receiving a poorer, less local, service. The cuts will particularly damage and diminish the level of service to vulnerable groups in our society. Congress rejects the simplistic division of staff into front- and back-line, recognising that all workers contribute to effective service delivery. The distinction between front line services and back room support is an arbitrary one which denigrates and devalues important public service functions. The impact of this decision is felt not just by civil servants, but across the public services, including the magistrates’ courts where staff will become civil servants on 1 April 2005 and are already to be subjected to a 5 per cent ‘efficiency’ cut by March 2008.
The job cuts and plans to relocate 20,000 jobs away from London and the south east will also damage the public, communities and staff. The relocation proposals will particularly affect the 30 per cent of London civil servants from ethnic minorities, as well as disabled workers and workers with caring responsibilities.
Unions favour improved service delivery but the Government has failed to engage the knowledge and skills of the workforce and unions in the process of change.
The plan is not only an attack on civil servants, but public sector workers generally. If successful, the Government’s plan will be used as a blueprint for the rest of public sector and as a green light to press ahead with the creeping commercialisation of public services and the casualisation of the public sector workforce already seen in areas like health, education and postal services.
The Government’s programme of change will not succeed unless it takes civil and public servants with them. It needs to engage more effectively with its own staff and their representatives. Congress calls on the Government and on all civil service departments to:
i) ensure that any staffing or cost targets associated with SR2004 are based on an objective analysis of the resources needed to perform identified functions;
ii) consult the civil service unions throughout the reform process and implement machinery that can operate across the civil service to ensure the central coordination of any human resource issues;
iii) commit to avoid compulsory redundancies;
iv) ensure that all programmes of departmental reform are subject to equality audits;
v) set realistic timetables to implement change;
vi) maintain, and where possible improve, public access to services;
vii) give full recognition to the role of professional and specialist public servants;
viii) move quickly towards a national framework for pay allowing for genuine negotiations on the overall pay envelope rather than a centrally imposed earnings limit;
ix) carry out an independent review of the system of delegated negotiations on pay and conditions of service within the civil service;
x) call a halt to further privatisation and Public-Private Partnerships until thorough assessment has been made of potential impact on core capability to deliver essential public services; and
xi) follow best practice in the design of relocation packages, pursue a voluntary approach to movement of staff, and identify alternative employment opportunities for staff not wishing to move.
Congress calls upon the General Council to fully support and co-ordinate public services unions in opposing these arbitrary cuts by:
a) making MPs aware of the effects of job cuts in their constituencies;
b) facilitating co-ordination between public sector unions;
c) co-ordinating and supporting appropriate campaigning by unions which might include industrial action, a demonstration and lobby of Parliament, in co-operation with user and community groups;
d) establishing a group of relevant affiliates to assess the impact of the efficiency review and workforce reform on public services, including education and identify the future needs of services; and
e) raising these issues with the Public Services Forum and Chancellor.
Mover:
Public and Commercial Services Union
Seconder:
Prospect
Supporters:
FDA
AMO
Communication Workers’ Union
National Union of Teachers
C12
Future of health and public policy
Motions 45 and amendment, and 46
Congress believes the NHS provides an excellent quality service for patients. Congress congratulates the Government on its increased investment in health. This has resulted in increasing staffing levels, greater capacity and reduced waiting lists. Congress welcomes government initiatives to improve the health of the nation and implement health care policies which provide more access to diagnosis and treatment. However, there is still much to do: workloads are too high and shortages of staff persist.
Congress notes the prime minister’s statement in June that the pace of public sector reform needs to quicken. Congress believes that any proposals for the NHS should be measured against equity of access, standards of care, the promotion of health and appropriate care for long-term conditions. Investment in the NHS needs to be maintained and staff treated fairly.
For any further reforms to succeed, deadlines must be realistic and managers and clinical staff be given the resources, including adequate numbers of administrative and support staff, necessary to achieve effective implementation and delivery.
Extending the provision of MRI services is a welcome development, but a failure to ensure that there are adequate and trained NHS health care staff to deliver this policy is an example of where improvements to healthcare may be lost because of political expediency.
The lack of planning in the delivery of this policy jeopardises any potential for the development of a comprehensive service and fails to recognise the unused capacity for the delivery of MRI services, which currently exists within the NHS.
Congress is disappointed that the Government has not engaged with, and listened more to, NHS trade unions when developing their policies. Congress calls on the General Council to:
i) use the Public Services Forum to ensure genuine dialogue with government on public services which takes account of union concerns and ensure that all policy in the public sector is discussed with unions and implemented collectively; and
ii) provide quality research to affiliates particularly in respect of the ‘choice’ agenda to help shape discussion and debate.
Mover:
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Seconder:
Society of Radiographers
Supporter:
FDA
C13
Education
Motions 52, 53, 54 and 55
Congress, noting with concern the Government’s emphasis on ‘delivering’ learning, the continuing domination of performance pressures, and the conditions of learning for children and young people in schools, calls upon the General Council to warn of the dangers of narrow agendas that ignore:
i) children and young people’s views about their learning;
ii) teachers’ views about the sort of learning that they are being asked to ‘deliver’ in schools;
iii) the importance of learning - not just teaching;
iv) the damaging consequences of a performance-oriented learning culture; and
v) the need for a richer view of the contribution schools can make to changing lives.
Congress however welcomes the government initiative of Sure Start, which recognises that parents are children’s first educators, being experts on their own children. In the spirit of individuals being committed to learning throughout life, Congress expresses concern at the culture gap that exists between home and school at secondary level.
Congress seeks support for parents at this level, through the provision of a major ‘Keeping it Sure’ initiative that empowers parents to, and convinces them of, the value of continued engagement with the education system.
‘Keeping it Sure’ initiatives should build on the values of Sure Start and act as agents of change, encouraging parental participation in all phases of education, ensuring systematic implementation of school and agencies’ contact with parents and communities.
Congress calls on the Government urgently to establish major ‘Keeping it Sure’ initiatives at secondary level that will make inclusion meaningful for many more families.
Congress also notes the demographic pressures currently facing the education service, in particular the fact that the average age of a teacher is now over 50 and that a significant proportion of the profession will retire in the course of the next 10 years. Congress also notes that school rolls are likely to decline over the same period which provides an excellent opportunity for significant reductions in class size across all sectors.
Congress believes that reduced class sizes play a significant role in:
a) improving learning and attainment of all children;
b) helping to tackle problems of pupil indiscipline;
c) assisting with the implementation of social inclusion policies; and
d) allowing increased individual teacher/pupil interaction.
Congress, therefore, calls on the Government to ensure that the necessary levels of teacher recruitment and resources are provided to the appropriate UK and devolved authorities to allow class sizes to be reduced and to replace the significant number of teachers who will retire during the coming decade.
Congress also recognises the dedication and commitment of classroom teaching staff and calls for a more active and systematic government programme of support and encouragement of continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers in our schools. Congress notes the teaching staff development initiatives now being promoted by the Teacher Training Agency and DfES and seeks an appropriate emphasis on whole-school staff development programmes to supplement such initiatives. Congress believes that a properly structured and specifically resourced national CPD programme can assist the teaching profession in facing today’s challenges and strengthening the education service for the future.
Mover:
Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Seconder:
Educational Institute of Scotland
Supporters:
National Association of Educational Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants
Association of Educational Psychologists
C14
Transport
Motions 58 and amendment, 59 and 60
Congress reaffirms its support for re-nationalisation of the railways.
Congress believes that with adequate investment and the right structure the railways will play a key role in solving Britain’s growing transport problems.
Congress therefore welcomes the record investment promised by the Government for rail in the spending review, together with many of the changes set out in the ‘Future of Rail’ White Paper.
Congress notes one of the primary purposes of the Government’s review of the railways was to address the "fragmentation, excessive complication and dysfunctionality" of the privatised railway.
Congress therefore welcomes those steps that have already been taken to exert greater control over the railways. Specifically Congress notes Network Rail has taken maintenance back in house and South Eastern Trains has become the first passenger service to be taken back into public ownership. In both these instances Congress notes that performance and efficiency has improved.
Congress urges the Government to build on these positive steps by reintegrating all railway infrastructure and passenger operations under a single publicly owned, publicly accountable railway body.
Congress further welcomes that public accountability will be improved as a result of:
i) the decision of the Government to take responsibility for setting the strategy for the railways and for its overall performance; and
ii) the increased role for the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and the London Mayor.
In the light of the self-evident failure of railway privatisation, Congress also reiterates its opposition to the London Underground PPP and calls for all maintenance and renewals to be bought back under the control of London Underground.
Congress further believes that the regulation of rail safety must be kept separate from economic regulation. Congress regrets that the Government has bowed to the pressure of private train operators and moved rail safety regulation away from the HSE, contrary to the recommendations of the Cullen Enquiry. Congress calls on the General Council to work with the rail unions to press for a single, truly independent rail safety agency with sufficient resources and expertise to ensure improvement in the safety of staff and users of the railway.
Congress also notes that the three rail unions organised a very successful national rally and lobby of Parliament on the 20th July 2004, demanding the return to a publicly owned, publicly accountable national railway, and recognizes this lobby as part of an ongoing campaign.
A recent opinion poll revealed that no less than 72 per cent of the public want all rail services brought back into the public sector, noting that 10 billion pounds have been given to train operating companies while services have deteriorated rapidly. Congress is therefore astonished at the Government’s desire to re-privatise South Eastern trains and commits to work with, and support, the ongoing campaign.
Congress regrets that the White Paper fails to address the fundamental question of ownership which Congress believes goes to the very heart of the malaise afflicting Britain’s railway industry. Congress calls on the General Council to campaign with rail unions on this issue as a priority to ensure that rail can deliver effectively in the long term for rail users and their communities.
Congress further notes that as an island nation which is dependent on ships for over 90 per cent of our trade the UK needs to retain its own maritime skills. Congress therefore resolves to support all efforts to increase the employment and training opportunities for British seafarers. Specifically Congress supports the campaign to introduce a direct link between the tonnage tax and seafarers’ employment.
Finally, Congress continues to support the full repeal of Section 9 of the Race Relations Act as part of the wider campaign for full equality and employment rights for seafarers, and notes that this could have been achieved if arrangements to protect the position of British seafarers had been put in place in advance of any repeal.
Mover:
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
Seconder:
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association
Supporters:
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
National Union of Marine, Aviation and Shipping Transport Officers
C15
Energy and environment
Motions 63, 64, 65 and amendment, and 66
Congress recognises the urgency and seriousness of the threats stemming from climate change and global warming and welcomes the lead given by the British Government in promoting ratification and application of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. It calls on the Government to give further backing to the development of renewable sources of energy.
Congress reaffirms its commitment to a balanced energy policy.
It welcomes the publication of the first annual report on implementation of the Energy White Paper, which confirms the Government’s commitment to national climate change targets. However, Congress is concerned that:
i) despite some welcome progress in increasing generation from renewables, the UK will not achieve its goal of a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010;
ii) government is too relaxed in its assessment of the consequences of growing dependence on imported oil and gas; and
iii) there is considerable uncertainty about the implications of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme for prices, investment and employment.
Congress believes that diversity and flexibility of energy sources are key to ensuring security of supply and, to this end, calls on the Government to act to ensure that:
a) all energy options are actively pursued and that there is increased support for research, development and demonstration of new technologies;
b) there is an adequate supply of skilled staff to maintain the resilience of energy networks and to respond to the technical challenges arising from new sources of generation;
c) incentives for investment under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme encourage the development of all lower-carbon generation technologies, including nuclear and coal; and
d) there is greater transparency and accountability by Ofgem to ensure that energy sources and supply can be considered strategically.
Congress is alarmed, however, that the British proposals to the European Commission, for reducing emissions from 2005 to 2010 through the EU trading scheme, take as their base year 2002, which saw recession in British manufacturing. The proposals involve cuts on a larger scale than any other EU state. In welcoming the recent upturn in British manufacturing output and the improved prospects for the next two years at least,
Congress urges the Government to minimise the threats to British steel production, and to manufacturing in general, from having to purchase rights to emit carbon dioxide. The Government should do this by ensuring that British companies do not have to buy permits to fulfil their plans for expanding output, and ensuring that no other European Union state gains a competitive advantage from the application of the emissions trading regime, taking account of the probability that any additional reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in the United Kingdom will be exceeded by emissions from the new EU member states which are less carbon efficient.
Congress supports the concept of supplying the nation’s energy needs by exploiting the UK’s indigenous energy reserves. The very thought of the UK becoming a net importer of energy by the year 2020 of up to 90 per cent of our requirements, of which 70 per cent will be gas, quite frankly beggars belief. Congress believes that with control over our own future energy requirements the issue of security of supply from the most unstable of countries is largely diminished.
Congress notes that while the Government has an ambitious plan to increase the proportion of renewable energy in UK electricity generation such targets are unlikely to be achieved. Congress is also concerned that insufficient account has been taken of the need to ensure that changes in the energy mix take proper account of the need to manage the variable loads that are inherent in the operation of the national grid.
Congress believes that there must be an ongoing role for coal within that mix, but that as the current fleet of coal fired power stations age, the market is not capable of providing sufficient incentive for new clean-coal power stations. Congress believes that investment by the Government in a new generation of power stations is essential if its objectives of fuel diversity and security of supply are to be assured.
Congress seeks discussions with the Government on how best to achieve the agreed emission limits by utilising the already proven and readily available Clean Coal Technology plant.
Congress calls on the Government to provide public funding for research, development and demonstration in clean coal technology as part of the UK’s long-term balanced energy policy, and investment in the UK’s power engineering and manufacturing sector to develop expertise in design, manufacture and construction of new power stations.
The General Council is instructed to pro-actively pursue these objectives and to promote a joined-up approach to energy and environmental policy making.
Mover:
Prospect
Seconder:
Community
Supporters:
National Union of Mineworkers
BACM-TEAM
Amicus
C16
BBC charter renewal and public service broadcasting
Motions 67 and amendment, 68, 69 and 71
Congress is concerned at threats to the future of the BBC arising from the charter renewal process and licence fee review.
Congress recognises that the BBC is the most significant commissioner and patron of arts, culture and popular science in the UK, and combines this role with its independence of government, commercial pressures and vested interests.
Congress believes the BBC is one of the few remaining UK institutions that binds us together at home and earns us admiration overseas; thereforeit is imperative that it is not weakened or restricted in its role.
Congress confirms its view that:
i) the BBC is the cornerstone of our public service broadcasting system; our primary source of original programme production; the most significant employer and trainer in both television and radio; the standard setter for independent newsgathering and output; and the leader in the spread of digital television in the UK; and
ii) the increasing attacks on the BBC by commercial broadcasters such as BSkyB, who wish to move to a more market-based broadcasting system, should be strongly resisted.
Congress therefore instructs the General Council to campaign throughout the charter renewal process for:
a) retention of the licence fee as the primary source of BBC funding;
b) opposition to alternative funding mechanisms, including ‘top slicing’ the licence fee (thereby diverting public funds to commercial broadcasters);
c) retention of the BBC’s range of additional commercial services and opposition to sell offs such as that of BBC Technology;
d) opposition to any increase in the independent production quota from its current level of 25 per cent;
e) increased independence of the BBC Governors from Government and from BBC management, with no increase in Ofcom’s role in regulating the BBC;
f) reconsideration of the composition of the governors with the aim of achieving an outcome more representative of the broadcasting industry and of the country as a whole and to encourage positive steps to address the BBC’s portrayal of our society by the engagement of a truly representative spectrum of performers and presenters; and
g) recognition of the value of strong independent news within the BBC and its contribution to the democratic participation of citizens throughout the UK.
Congress welcomes the new Chairman and Director General who have the confidence of the public and the industry.
Congress reaffirms its belief in public service broadcasting, of which the BBC is a cornerstone, but believes that all national broadcasters should continue to be under an obligation to deliver PSB programming.
Congress believes it is in the interests of the UK for the BBC to retain a leading role in the development of digital electronic technologies, in consultation with the relevant trade unions.
Congress supports the licence fee system and rejects advertising on the BBC or a subscription based system.
Congress congratulates the General Council for actively pursuing these issues in consultation with the Federation of Entertainment Unions, and encourages the General Council to use its influence to protect and preserve the BBC for ourselves and for future generations.
Congress believes that the fight to uphold public service broadcasting standards is equally important in the independent and commercial sectors.
Congress notes that, since the merger of Carlton and Granada, ITV is cutting its commitments to local news in key regions, and is closing studios and losing 550 jobs at Meridian in the South and at Central in the Midlands. Similarly, other independent broadcasters, like ITV Wales, are also cutting back on local news production.
The new ‘light touch’ broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, has so far refused to intervene to ensure that these companies keep to their commitments.
Congress therefore resolves to call on the General Council to make representations to Ofcom, and to campaign for Ofcom to carry out its responsibilities to the public in protecting public service broadcasting imperatives in regional and local news production in the independent sector.
Congress also notes the Government’s stated intention of switching off the analogue television signal by the end of 2010. Congress is concerned that at the time of analogue switch-off many UK citizens will be unable to receive a digital signal without some financial cost, not only for the software required (through set top boxes), but potentially hardware as well in the form of upgrading of existing aerials or installation of satellite dishes. This will be a particular difficulty where people live in multi-resident dwellings.Congress recognises that many people, particularly those most vulnerable in society, rely on television for news, current affairs and entertainment, whilst for many elderly or disabled people television provides the majority of their contact with the outside world.
Congress calls upon the General Council to lobby the Government on the basis of ensuring that these vulnerable members of society are not financially burdened at the time of analogue switch-off and that they are ensured continual access to the nation’s television.
Mover:
Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
Seconder:
Writers’ Guild of Great Britain
Supporters:
National Union of Journalists
Equity
C17
Europe
Motion 77 and amendments
Congress welcomes proposals for a referendum on the proposed constitution for the European Union. Congress therefore welcomes also that at long last genuine and constructive debate can now take place in Britain regarding the proposed constitution for the European Union.
In this respect Congress notes there are genuine concerns amongst affiliates that the proposed constitution for the European Union may undermine the democratic rights of EU states to determine their own futures.
Specifically there are legitimate fears that the ratification of the proposals as currently drafted may:
i) centralise power to Brussels and strengthen unaccountable EU institutions at the expense of national, elected parliaments;
ii) transfer control of economic and transport policies to Brussels, undermining the ability of any UK government to take actions such as bringing the Tube and the mainline railway back into public ownership or preventing the tendering of essential lifeline ferry services such as Calmac;
iii) entrench neo-liberal policies of privatisation and transfer control of the public sector to the EU, threatening the existence of a National Health Service in the UK that is free at the point of use;
iv) represent a threat to UK rights to trial by jury and introduce an EU police force which would be immune from prosecution; and
v) introduce a single EU foreign and security policy and establish an EU army.
Congress therefore believes it would be inappropriate at the present time to take a formal position on the proposed European Constitution. Instead Congress requests that the General Council investigate the impact of the proposed Constitution and campaign to ensure that it does not undermine the national democratic rights of member states.
Mover:
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
Seconder:
National Union of Mineworkers
Amendment
Throughout, replace ‘constitution’ with ‘Constitutional Treaty’
Add at the end of paragraph 1:
...and looks forward to having a fair, in-depth and balanced debate on the impact on UK workers and unions, which will provide the opportunity for unions to campaign for the European Social Model as a necessary counterweight to the internal market and the business model of labour market flexibility, inequality and deregulation. Congress recalls that most advances since 1979 in extending workers’ entitlements and promoting equality stemmed from EU decisions, and deplores the campaign of press lies to undermine support for EU cooperation.
Paragraph 2, line 1: delete ‘genuine’. Line 3: replace ‘may undermine’ with ‘is portrayed as undermining’.
Paragraph 2, line 5: insert after ‘futures’:
...and that these worries could be exploited by the Euro-sceptic media as a cover for their real agenda, which is to replace the European Social Model with the American Business Model of labour market flexibility, inequality and deregulation.
Paragraph 3, line 1: replace ‘Specifically there are legitimate’ with ‘Congress urges the General Council to investigate and report back on whether there is any truth behind’.
Paragraph 3, delete sub-point (iv) and renumber (v) as (iv).
Paragraph 4, sentence 1: delete ‘therefore’ and ‘at the present time’ and add at the end of the sentence ‘until unions and the General Council have had the opportunity to consider it in depth’.
Paragraph 4, sentence 2: replace ‘does not undermine the national democratic rights of member states’ with
...strengthens the EU as a potent force for making market forces serve working people, protects the European Social Model and extends the rights of working people and citizens to decent work, equality and peace.
Mover:
Graphical, Paper and Media Union
Seconder:
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers
Supporters:
Community
Accord
BACM-TEAM
C18
Learning and skills
Motions 84 and amendment, 85, 86 and amendment, 87, and 88
Congress welcomes the improvements the Government’s strategy has made in the nation’s skills, and, a year on, the gains in the workplace of the statutory rights for union learning reps. Congress also welcomes the Government’s commitment to tackling the skills gap in the UK, with the objective of raising productivity levels to those of other leading European economies. Congress further welcomes the attention and commitment of this Government to vocational education and training, to its high profile skills strategy and renewed emphasis on apprenticeships.
However, there is still no universal right in the UK to paid time off to undertake training to at least NVQ level 2. Therefore Congress calls on the Government to introduce legislation to give every adult the right to paid time off from work to undertake training at least to NVQ level 2. Congress calls for the extension of statutory paid educational leave and maintenance of adult education and lifelong learning opportunities whilst addressing basic skills issues.
Congress also notes, with disappointment, that too many employers still refuse to invest in the skills of their workforce and will not discuss training or learning with worker representatives. Congress therefore calls on the Government to bring training and learning within the scope of statutory collective bargaining, so that every worker’s voice in the workplace is heard, and their views taken into account, on these two very important issues.
Congress further demands urgent action to redress the anomaly whereby consultation with unions on training and employee development is only legally required when recognition is conceded after a ballot and condemns the absence of such a provision in the Information and Consultation Regulations.
Congress also calls on the Government to set up statutory Workplace Learning Committees to ensure that employers work with Union Learning Reps in every workplace to deliver the training and lifelong learning that is relevant both to the needs of the business and the aspirations of the staff.
Despite the improvements the Government’s skills strategy has brought, too many employers simply fail to meet their social and economic responsibilities to train, and as a result too many workers are still being denied learning opportunities at work. This doesn’t just affect the employer, and as a result threaten the job security of workers, but also the employability of individuals, which has a major knock-on effect across the entire economy, which is suffering badly. Congress notes that the UK will never be able to make significant improvements in skills as long as some employers cling to outdated notions that they should have sole control over the training and skills agenda. This is a legacy of the 1980s and 90s when the UK fell further behind its international competitors and many sectors of the economy failed to invest in skills. Trade unions are uniquely and ideally well placed to contribute to renewing and improving the skills of their members.
Therefore Congress demands the Government introduce statutory training levies in sectors where it is evident they are failing to address skill problems. Congress also calls on the Government to keep the option of a compulsory training levy under review and to implement a levy if the current voluntary approach is not successful.
Congress welcomes the decision by the Government to establish Sector Skills Councils to replace the national training organisations and the commitment by the Government that unions will be represented on the boards of Sector Skills Councils. Congress welcomes the skills strategy’s encouragement of union involvement in Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and the positive role of union learning representatives.
Congress congratulates the General Council on the efforts it has made to bring together the union representatives on the trail-blazer Sector Skills Councils and the success of the event that it jointly hosted with the Sector Skills Council Development Agency in June 2004.
Congress therefore instructs the General Council to:
i) do all it can to encourage unions to play a full role in the affairs of the relevant Sector Skills Council and to continue to press Government to ensure that unions are properly represented on the boards of Sector Skills Councils;
ii) encourage affiliates to educate, inform and involve officials, both lay and full-time, in the importance of engaging with Sector Skills Councils and being involved in the development of Sector Skills Agreements;
iii) campaign to find a more creative role for union learning representatives in working with Sector Skills Councils at NVQ level 2 and above, and to seek to have union learning representatives play a key role in the development of Sector Skills Agreements; and
iv) ensure that all workers, whatever their employment status, are covered by the work of Sector Skills Councils and included in Sector Skills Agreements.
Congress also resolves to establish mechanisms to enable union SSC members to keep all relevant unions updated through appropriate TUC forums and affirms that each SSC should:
a) be employment-led rather than employer-dominated;
b) consult with and inform all unions in the sector on developments; and
c) have adequate arrangements for trade union representation.
Congress calls on affiliates to urge employers to take full advantage of the opportunities that are now available at national, sectional and regional level. However, it must be acknowledged that there is an immense task ahead if we are to make real progress and it is essential that there is a commitment to a tripartite approach involving employers, unions and relevant government departments, especially the DfES and DTI.
Congress regrets the HE legislation introducing differential top-up fees from 2006 and the failure to guarantee that extra fee income will be additional to existing public funding levels. It resolves to continue to address the consequences of these policies.
Congress believes investment in further and higher education should come from the public purse and is concerned at recent policy proposals that new investment should arise from institutional links with business, further exacerbating the divide between wealthy institutions and those with basic funding.
Congress deplores the continuing funding gap between schools and FE colleges resulting in pay inequality between school and college staff, and fewer resources for FE college students.
Congress also deplores the introduction of differential funding, based on performance, for further education institutions and undertakes to lobby Government for its immediate removal.
Success for students on vocational programmes - the ‘other’ 50 per cent - will depend on substantial resources, excellent provision, and the placing of a high value on these students’ achievements. They must not be neglected in comparison to relatively academic learners.
Congress calls on the Government to invest in vocational education and training resources equivalent to those dedicated to the 2010 target of bringing 50 per cent of all 18 to 30-year-olds onto higher education programmes.
Mover:
Graphical, Paper and Media Union
Seconder:
NATFHE - The University and College Lecturers’ Union
Supporters:
Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
Association of College Management
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
C19
Health and safety at work
Motions 89 and amendments, and 90 and amendments
Congress welcomes the long overdue acknowledgement by the Health and Safety Commission, in its Statement on Worker Involvement and Consultation, that the involvement of trade union safety representatives leads to higher levels of compliance and better health and safety performance.
Congress believes that this evidence of the positive benefits of workers’ involvement should be integrated into the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) assessment of an employers’ health and safety ‘management system’. Congress calls upon the General Council to campaign for this change to inspection policy, and calls upon its own representatives at the Commission to insist that its focus should return to one of enforcement.
Congress is concerned over recent declarations from the Health and Safety Commission that they are directing the HSE to move away from enforcement to encouragement.
Congress also notes a series of failures to introduce, or call for, measures designed to protect workers such as:
i) action on corporate killing;
ii) regulations or code of practice to tackle stress;
iii) action to support the introduction of roving safety reps;
iv) action to introduce an upper limit on working temperature;
v) action to improve the rights and functions of safety reps;
vi) action to make violence to workers a reportable event; and
vii) action to support an end to the individual opt-out in the UK from the Working Time Directive.
Congress welcomes the report from the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee calling for the number of HSE Inspectors to be doubled and HSE funding to be increased. Congress calls on the Government to accept these findings, which are in line with evidence submitted by the TUC and Prospect.
Although Congress welcomes the allocation of £3m public funding over three years for the Workers’ Safety Advisor Challenge Fund, Congress believes this is totally inadequate to help reduce the estimated £15-17 billion that poor occupational health and safety standards cost the British economy each year. Congress further believes that the primary responsibility for providing the funding for initiatives to prevent accidents and ill-health lies with employers, whose management failures are mainly responsible for the occupational injury and disease suffered by their workers.
Congress recognises that where flagrant health and safety crimes are committed the case for punitive action is unquestionable. Congress notes that there are too many deaths at work, and believes that such tragedies as Tebay and Morecambe Bay once again highlight the urgent need for corporate manslaughter legislation. Congress is appalled that despite repeated promises the Government have still failed to act, and calls on the TUC to campaign to ensure that death at work caused by employer negligence is a crime that does not pay, through the promotion of full criminal responsibility and sanctions for employers whose action (or inaction) jeopardises, injures or kills workers.
Congress calls on the General Council to undertake a review of the functioning of the HSC, including the accountability mechanisms of the TUC commissioners, over the coming year, with a view to improving its effectiveness in protecting the health and safety of working people.
Congress therefore calls upon the General Council to mount a sustained campaign aimed at persuading Government to develop a new and comprehensive strategy for reducing occupational deaths, injuries, and disease. This strategy should be based upon increasing the involvement of trade unions, and generating funds for prevention from employers, and should include:
a) enhancements to the function of safety reps including amending the appropriate legislation, specifically including Regulation 8 of the Safety Representatives’ Regulations, to give trade unions the legal right to appoint ‘roving safety representatives’ who need not be employees of the company employing the members that they represent;
b) introducing a ‘work environment fund’ (WEF) to generate resources for a wide range of health and safety purposes, paid for by a payroll-based levy on employers, with the WEF under tripartite control;
c) proper funding and direction for the Health and Safety Executive to ensure enforcement of all health and safety legislation;
d) the Government enacting the recommendations of the Works and Pensions Select Committee report on the HSC and introducing legislation in the forthcoming parliamentary term on corporate manslaughter, so that companies and their directors in both the public and private sector can be held to account; and
e) recognising that violence against frontline workers constitutes a substantial proportion of workplace injuries - the strategy should encourage the police and the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to give greater priority to working with employers and unions to minimise risks and deal with persistent offenders.
Mover:
GMB
Seconder:
Napo
Supporters:
Amicus
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Public and Commercial Services Union
Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
Prospect
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
National Union of Mineworkers
Trades Union Congress
Congress House
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LS
020 7636 4030
September 2004
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