TUC Congress 2013 General Council Report

Congress 2013

General Council report

The 145th Annual Trades Union Congress, 8-11 September 2013, Bournemouth

Introduction: Frances O'Grady, General Secretary

As delegates gather this week at Congress to talk about the real issues facing working people, a very different kind of debate will be raging in Westminster on the government's lobbying bill.

Rather than address public anger about political sleaze, the government plans to demand yet more membership information from unions, on top of the annual audits we already publish.

But the bill will leave the vast majority of lobbying activity by the rich and powerful untouched and under cover.

In contrast, there is no secret about what the TUC and unions are campaigning for: to improve working lives, and build a stronger, greener and fairer Britain.

Our campaign is set out in some detail in the General Council's plan that was launched on May Day. But what working people tell us they want can be summed up in a few headlines:

Decent jobs and apprenticeships. This would cut the human and economic cost of unemployment, especially for the one million young people priced out of higher education, and without training or paid work.

New council homes. Investment in a mass programme of council house building is the best way to bring private rents down, cut the housing benefit bill and guarantee young families a decent start in life.

Fair pay. Boosting collective bargaining and creating modern wages councils would help get unsustainable levels of household borrowing and debt down, boost consumer demand and stop pay inequality spiralling out of control.

A new national care service for adults and children too. Taxpayers are calling time on the private companies that rip them off and instead want 21st century public services, from our railways to Royal Mail, publicly owned and democratically accountable.

More democracy at work. In the rest of Europe it is now mainstream to guarantee workers' collective voice is heard up to and including the boardroom, so why not here?

Of course, action is also needed to remedy all the root causes of the financial crash, not least an overhaul of the banks and fair taxes.

And, as a growing band of businesses agree, the British disease of short-termism will only be tackled with an intelligent industrial strategy, with good, local jobs at its heart.

But austerity has only added to the almighty mess left by the global financial crisis and recovery is painfully slow. Any sign of green shoots should be welcome. But while financial engineers in the City of London may be cracking open bottles of champagne, there is precious little cause for celebration among cash-strapped communities in the rest of the country.

It is perhaps a sign of political desperation that government backwoodsmen have been let off the leash to weaken still further people's rights at work and attack their trade unions.

And the nasty politics of punishing welfare claimants for bad luck, and blaming migrant workers for bad employers, is back.

This summer the Austerity Uncovered buses set out across Britain to film often heart-breaking testimonies from those at the sharp end of loan sharks, benefit cuts and the bedroom tax. Their personal stories should prick the conscience of the nation.

In my first year as TUC general secretary, I have spent a good deal of time travelling around the country to press our case with politicians and employers, and listen to community and faith leaders, as well as workers. I want to record my appreciation for the support, wisdom and good humour of members of the General Council.

I've also drawn inspiration from meeting union reps who week in, week out negotiate decent deals to protect jobs, deliver new learning opportunities, keep workplaces safer, healthier and fairer, and organise fellow workers to stand up for dignity and justice at work.

It's a noble role, and one that deserves employer support and public praise. We will be calling on our workplace leaders again to help us mobilise for our Save our NHS march and rally in Manchester on 29 September and a major national demonstration next year.

Since taking up my post, the TUC team has been strengthened by the Executive's appointment of Paul Nowak to join Kay Carberry as an Assistant General Secretary. Paul is a talented leader whose commitment is second to none.

Credit is due to Brendan Barber who led the TUC as general secretary for the first part of this Congress year, including the second mass march for a future that works in October. I also want to thank all our TUC staff whose hard work and dedication helps ensure that the movement punches well above its weight.

I am in no doubt that ultimately the best way to meet the challenges we face is to rebuild union membership and collective bargaining coverage in both the public and private sectors. We also know that strength comes from diversity. And today, for the first time in our history, our six million membership is 50:50 men and women.

While there is still some way to go, particularly in promoting black and ethnic minority leadership, Britain's biggest democratic membership organisation now looks far more like the rest of the country than the somewhat limited gene pool represented in the current Cabinet and the average boardroom.

Finally, while sunshine and great live music play a part, it's no accident that this year labour movement festivals attracted such big crowds. From Tolpuddle to the Durham gala, as well as a new Match Women's festival celebrating the strike that marked the birth of first wave New Unionism, in times of adversity people feel the need to join together.

We owe it to all working people, at home and internationally, to keep our values of equality, solidarity and compassion alive.

But that demands thinking as well as active trade unionism. It means we need to be even smarter and more strategic.

And we need to build hope, confidence and unity to win a future fair for all. To coin a phrase, we really are all in this together.

Download the full General Council Report as a pdf file (10MB)