General Council Report 2024
Introduction - Paul Nowak
Welcome to the 156th TUC Congress in Brighton.
As always, Congress is a chance for unions to come together, celebrate our achievements and democratically decide our priorities for the future. With 48 affiliates representing over five million members in every walk of working life, it’s a chance for working people across the country to make our collective voice heard.
And this year, we meet with genuine optimism. The election of a Labour government in July offers real hope to trade unions and working people. After 14 years of Conservative rule, we have a chance to rebuild Britain and shape a fairer, greener, more equal future.
At the heart of Labour’s agenda is its New Deal for working people – a plan to make work pay. This will deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, tackling the zero- hours contracts, fire and rehire and low pay that blight the lives of millions of workers.
At the heart of Labour’s agenda is its New Deal for working people – a plan to make work pay. This will deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, tackling the zero-hours contracts, fire and rehire and low pay that blight the lives of millions of workers.
Crucially, the New Deal will also level the playing field for unions. We can now look forward to new rights to access workplaces, both physically and digitally, turbocharging our organising efforts. We will also benefit from streamlined
recognition processes, boosting campaigns at the likes of Amazon. And we will see the repeal of the anti-trade union legislation, from the Trade Union Act to the unworkable, undemocratic minimum service levels introduced in last year’s Strikes Act.
Whereas the Tories attacked unions – and workers’ fundamental right to strike – Labour will work with us to tackle inequality, fight discrimination and rebuild our shattered public services. This political change is hugely welcome – and it presents real opportunities for our movement to grow. When Congress met in Liverpool last year, our focus was on defeating minimum service levels: this year, the Act that delivered them looks set to be removed from the statute book.
The past year has been another momentous period for us. Hundreds of thousands of workers have taken strike action for a fair deal right across the economy, with unions winning scores of industrial victories. In a year when we marked the 40th anniversaries of the miners’ strike and GCHQ, the TUC has been proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with all
workers and unions involved in industrial action.
As unions have stood up and won for workers, we have recorded a welcome rise in our net membership of 90,000. But there can be no room for complacency. Our membership is ageing and we’re not organising enough young workers. Union density in the private sector, where most people work, has been sliding for years. And we’re still not as diverse as the workers we represent – and aspire to represent.
That’s why we need to become a movement of all, and for all: women and men, Black and white, young and old, LGBT+ and non-LGBT+, disabled and non-disabled. We are on track to achieve the target of training 500 new Black reps and activists we set out last year – but more needs to be done. I am determined that we hardwire equality into every aspect of our organising, bargaining and campaigning work. And we must tackle the scourge of sexual harassment in our workplaces – and that includes within our own movement.
If we are to rebuild our collective strength, we must recruit workers right across the economy – private as well as public, services as well as manufacturing, rural as well as urban. With Labour in power, there should be no no-go zones for our movement.
If we are to rebuild our collective strength, we must recruit workers right across the economy – private as well as public, services as well as manufacturing, rural as well as urban. With Labour in power, there should be no no-go zones for our movement.
Unions must also adapt to a fast-evolving economy. Technological change and artificial intelligence are transforming whole industries and the jobs we do. Climate change and the transition to net zero are already reshaping key sectors such as transport, energy and manufacturing. And the explosive growth of insecure working makes it harder for us to organise the workers most in need of collective representation and a collective voice.
But we should face the future with confidence. Throughout our history, we’ve shown the value of workers joining together, organising together and fighting together. Times may change, the world of work may change, the economy may change, but the fundamental need for strong unions backed by strong collective bargaining rights remains. Unity really is strength.
In this country and around the world, working people share the same aspirations for decent jobs, fair pay, a voice at work, strong rights, good public services and affordable housing.
Our movement has always been proudly internationalist, and our 2024 Congress takes place against the backdrop of conflict, division and uncertainty across the world. Earlier this year, I visited Ukraine, where I saw the terrible realities facing its workers: surgeons working through air raids, rail workers striving to keep trains running, power workers under rocket attack. Those workers need our support and solidarity, alongside stronger rights, better wages and funds for economic reconstruction.
As I write, we also have wars in Yemen, Sudan and elsewhere, alongside the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. What we have seen there is appalling, with indiscriminate bombing, children starving, and civilians targeted. In April, the headquarters of our sister trade union centre the PGFTU was bombed by the IDF. As well as being a trade union building, it was also a bakery and a nursery for 380 children.
Throughout the conflict, the TUC has supported the calls of the global trade union movement. We have demanded the return of all hostages, an immediate ceasefire and respect for international law. Above all, we have said the only route to peace lies in a two-state solution built on a safe and secure Israel, and a safe, secure and free Palestine.
Our movement must also work internationally to address the far-right threat. Russia, China and other countries already have authoritarian governments. Italy and Hungary have far-right leaders, with the nationalist right prospering elsewhere in Europe. And in America, convicted criminal Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s candidate in November’s presidential election.
Despite all these challenges, I remain optimistic about the future. The election of a Labour government here in the UK shows that progressive change is possible – with the electorate emphatically rejecting the Tories’ culture wars and politics of division. In this country and around the world, working people share the same aspirations for decent jobs, fair pay, a voice at work, strong rights, good public services and affordable housing.
That's why the TUC will keep banging the drum for an economy that rewards work not wealth. With Labour in power and that New Deal on the horizon, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to go for growth and win fairness for working people. Let's take that chance.
Have a great Congress.
Solidarity to all.
Paul Nowak
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