General Council Report 2023

2.1 Introduction 

Over 2022, the worst pay crisis in modern history severely intensified. Lengthy and fragile supply chains could not cope as economic activity rebounded fast after lockdowns ended. The surge in prices of global commodities and energy further exacerbated inflationary pressures. The consequence was the most severe episode of price inflation for more than 40 years. 

As a result, 2022 was the worst single year of the pay crisis that began in 2008, with real pay falling by 2.8 per cent. The government sought to take credit for some limited support to households, but also demanded workers accept that they must be poorer. 

The government has sought to portray workers’ pay as an inflationary threat and has refused to adequately protect public sector workers from rising prices, though workers have won some important gains through industrial action. But in line with composite resolutions 1 and 13, and the General Council statement We Demand Better, the TUC has set out that the real threat to people at work is the Conservative government’s policies. 

The problem with the economy is not that workers have too much, but that they have too little. Low or no pay rises in the face of steep price rises, exacerbated by the brutal hikes in interest payments for those with mortgages and loans, means greatly reduced spending power. Likewise, smaller firms also face unprecedented hikes in their borrowing costs. As a result, we face greatly reduced economic activity and an economy flatlining at best and dangerously vulnerable to financial crisis and recession. 

As TUC analysis has shown, (see Figure 1 opposite) the situation is consistent with an economic model that for more than 40 years has favoured wealth at the expense of work. Our research shows that since 1979 wealth has enjoyed substantial gains, at the expense of the performance of the wider economy. Broadly, gross domestic product (GDP) has halved relative to pre-1979 trends, but wealth has trebled. 

As the pre-1979 experience shows, the present dire outcomes are not inevitable. The challenge is to reset the economy with the interests of labour at its heart. A starting point is the TUC’s call for a national conversation about how we tax wealth, to ensure that the super wealthy pay a fairer share. 

In July, the TUC Executive Committee met with the governor and chief economist of the Bank of England. It was an important opportunity to directly raise union and worker concerns about cost-of-living pressures, excess profits and the risk of recession. 

2.2 Pay, the national minimum wage and fair pay agreements 

Through our Britain Needs a Pay Rise campaign, the TUC has put wages at the heart of the debate about the cost-of-living crisis. In line with composite resolutions 1 and 13 and resolution 6, we have supported unions’ industrial action to help secure better pay rises for workers across the economy, lobbied ministers to restore a decade of lost earnings in the public sector, and campaigned for a rise in the national minimum wage as soon as possible to £15 per hour. 

We also launched the Our Work Matters: Justice for Outsourced Workers campaign. This joint union campaign connects low-paid outsourced workers in cleaning, security and facilities management roles across workplaces, unions and employers. 

Throughout the year we have made the case for a £15 minimum wage. We published analysis showing that a £15 minimum wage for care workers would boost the economy by £7.7bn. Our evidence to the Low Pay Commission called on the government to set out a plan to reach a £15 minimum wage. Following submissions by the TUC and affiliated unions, the government announced an increase in the national living wage (NLW) to £10.42 an hour from April 2023. 

The TUC’s National Minimum Wage Enforcement Group has met regularly, bringing together unions, advice agencies and relevant government departments and enforcement bodies. Kate Bell continued to represent the TUC on the Low Pay Commission. 

The TUC continues to contribute to the work of the Living Wage Foundation, promoting the voluntary living wage as a minimum rate for the lowest-paid workers. The TUC pushed for increases to the living wage to be bought forward in 2022, and following this the new living wage rate was announced two months early. 

Our work has also promoted sectoral bargaining as vital to reversing the decline in collective bargaining coverage, which has contributed to rising inequality and a loss of workforce power. Under 14 per cent of private sector workers are now covered by a collective agreement. 

In November, the Executive Committee launched a programme of work looking at how fair pay agreements, delivered through sectoral bargaining, could work in practice. In February, the Executive Committee agreed to establish a union working group to undertake this work, to which all affiliates were invited to send a representative. 

The union working group met four times and developed draft proposals covering issues including scope, the initiation of fair pay agreements, the bargaining group, and process and enforcement. A preliminary discussion of the draft proposals took place at the May Executive Committee, which agreed to hold further discussions with general secretaries. 

2.3 Climate and just transition 

Our work in this area has been guided by composites 2, 4, 6 and 17 and resolution 16. 

Responding to the unprecedented spike in retail energy prices, and in line with composite 4, the TUC published proposals for reforming the energy retail system, with an expanded role for publicly owned companies to guarantee affordable energy to households. TUC commentary on energy company profiteering regularly gained high-profile media attention, contributing to the successful campaign for government to impose a windfall tax on excess profits by energy companies and direct funds towards capping energy bills for households and business. 

In line with composite 2, the TUC facilitated dialogue with affiliated unions, manufacturing employers and politicians on the importance of a manufacturing revival – including in defence – to securing good jobs in the UK. We commissioned analysis of the impact of spiking gas and energy prices on manufacturers, and lobbied government for action to protect manufacturing jobs. And we demanded a UK response to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, an exemplar industrial policy, lobbying for a much more active UK industrial policy. In February, an informal delegation went to the US to talk directly to US unions and policy makers about these developments. 

The TUC continues to call for a proper industrial strategy to facilitate our transition to net zero through a balanced energy policy, protect and create jobs including in nuclear, improve job quality and inclusion, build the UK’s green manufacturing capacity and, in line with resolution 12, meet the needs of the economy and public services.

Through our new Worker-Led Transition project, the TUC has expanded the support available to affiliated unions and their workplace representatives, in line with resolution 16. We are also supporting reps in high-carbon industries, particularly steel and automotive, helping trade unionists advocate for, and win, plans to protect and onshore jobs while industries decarbonise. 

New TUC resources enabled more union reps to navigate extreme temperatures in the workplace and consider how to future-proof workplace buildings, including the new TUC guide to building retrofit at work. 

Wales TUC actively engaged with the Welsh government consultation for a just transition strategy. Yorkshire & the Humber TUC began a project to support reps in local authorities and construction trades in green bargaining, and has been active in supporting the Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission. TUC Northern has also supported the North East Climate Coalition. 

The Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee (TUSDAC) met bimonthly. 

2.4 Workers’ capital, corporate governance and executive pay 

Just before Congress 2022, the TUC published Companies for People: how to make companies work for workers. The report revealed that, since the financial crisis, dividends have risen three times faster than wages, arguing for reform to give workers a fair share of the wealth they create and greater power in businesses. Recommendations included reform of directors’ duties, including worker directors on company boards, replacing the word ‘employee’ with ‘workforce’ in the Companies Act, introducing joint and several liability, and boosting collective bargaining. The report achieved media coverage and was widely distributed. 

In September, the TUC responded to a consultation on the Corporate Governance Code, arguing that the provisions on workforce voice and consultation should be strengthened. 

Janet Williamson continues to represent the TUC on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ Corporate Governance Committee, contributing to two podcasts on ethical business dilemmas, and on the Wates Coalition responsible for corporate governance principles for large private companies. 

The TUC has continued to coordinate Trade Union Share Owners (TUSO), an initiative bringing together union funds to collaborate over voting and engagement with companies. We are also an active member of the ITUC’s Committee for Workers’ Capital. 

2.5 Trade 

The TUC used its position as vice chair of the UK-EU Domestic Advisory Group for the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and joint work with ETUC and EU sister centres to raise concerns that the Retained EU Law Bill and Strikes Bill contravened the government’s commitments to maintain a level playing field on rights in the TCA. 

The UK and EU Domestic Advisory Groups raised these concerns in a joint statement at the TCA Civil Society Forum with UK and EU Commission officials in October. As a result, 

the EU Commission raised an official complaint with the UK government about the Retained EU Law Bill and has noted concerns about restrictions on the right to strike in the UK. 

The TUC has advanced resolution 11 by raising with UK and EU governments the need for creative workers to be able to tour barrier-free across the EU. 

The TUC held several meetings with shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas Symonds MP, as well as other members of the shadow team, who raised TUC concerns in parliament. 

The TUC campaigned against trade talks between the UK and Gulf States due to widespread labour rights abuses, as well as repression of women’s and LGBT+ rights. The TUC highlighted these concerns in oral evidence to the International Trade Committee and report on Qatar, released ahead of the World Cup. 

The TUC released a joint statement with Indian unions in October to call for trade talks between the UK and Indian governments to be suspended due to concerns about widespread abuses of workers’ rights and civil liberties. 

The TUC gave evidence to MPs on the committee for the Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill, raising concerns that the UK-Australia and the UK-New Zealand trade deals did not protect rights, public services and social criteria being used in public procurement. The TUC also secured media coverage for our concerns regarding the UK’s accession to CPTPP. 

The TUC continued to call for UK-Israel trade talks to be halted due to concerns about abuses of Palestinian workers’ rights and the ongoing illegal occupation. These concerns were highlighted in a roundtable the TUC held in February with MPs, the Palestinian rights group Al Haq and the former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territory. 

2.6 Social security and sick pay 

The TUC has continued to highlight how the UK social security system does not provide an adequate safety net. Combined with the rocketing cost of basic foodstuffs and falling real wages, this has increased food poverty. 

We have worked with affiliated unions on the campaign to provide free school meals for children, in line with resolution 6 and composites 3 and 13. The TUC assistant general secretary addressed a mini rally organised by the NEU ahead of the delivery of a letter to the prime minister on the issue. The TUC has been engaging with unions on the Right to Food campaign, with our research revealing a significant increase in the number of children growing up in poverty in keyworker households. 

Together with the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Child Poverty Action Group, the TUC published analysis showing how targeted help could lift more children out of poverty. We demanded a substantial increase to child benefit, the removal of the two-child limit on universal credit and legacy benefits, and the end of the benefit cap. 

The TUC has also continued to campaign for decent sick pay for all, publishing several press stories on the subject. 

2.7 Pensions 

The TUC has continued to advocate for the interests of working people in the pension system. 

We have lobbied for the age threshold for auto-enrolment to be lowered to 18 and the lower earnings limit to be phased out, in line with resolution 15. We also produced a paper arguing that this approach would reduce the gender pensions gap, in line with resolution 14. 

The TUC has also continued to coordinate union engagement with the Treasury over changes to public service pension schemes. In line with resolution 14, we have also made the case against further increases to the state pension age in response to the independent state pension age review. 

The TUC has engaged with government, select committees and regulators through consultation processes. We have used these to argue for better funding regulation for defined benefit (DB) schemes, and to promote a wide range of collective defined contribution (CDC) schemes. 

The TUC Pensions Conference focused on several key issues, including responding to the cost-of-living crisis, improving diversity and inclusion in the pensions sector, and introducing a ‘living pension’ kitemark. We also held seminars to educate union reps and officials on CDC schemes, and pension trustees on the social impact of pension fund investing. 

2.8 Transport 

Achieving our legal obligations to deliver on net zero requires long-term, sustainable investment in transport services and infrastructure. It means: fully delivering HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail; regular, affordable bus services all over the country; and a significant settlement for Transport for London. Crucially, it requires re-establishing a publicly owned transport network to ensure revenue is reinvested in the system rather than being funnelled out in dividends to shareholders. 

In line with composite 17, the TUC published A Transport System Fit for the Climate Emergency, which makes the case for proper investment in a publicly owned rail system. In April 2023, we launched the report with representatives from all four main transport unions, and Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham. 

In March 2022, P&O Ferries dismissed nearly 800 workers and replaced them with lower-paid, less-experienced seafarers. P&O’s chief executive later admitted to parliament that the company knew its actions were illegal. Despite promising to act, the government has failed to strengthen workers’ rights and protections to prevent such a scandal happening again. In line with composite 7, the TUC worked with unions to lobby for improvements to the Seafarers’ Wages Bill and for greater protections for workers. 

We have continued to support striking workers in rail and across the transport sector. The TUC has coordinated industrial campaigns to build confidence and momentum, as unions mobilise members and win ballot thresholds. We have also organised mass demonstrations and lobbing events, coordinating opposition to the government’s draconian and undemocratic Minimum Service Levels Bill. 

2.9 Working time and flexible working 

The TUC has continued to campaign for flexible working to be the default way of working, calling for all workers to have a right to flexible working and to require employers to include possible flexible working options in job adverts, in line with resolution 40. As a result of union campaigning, a government-sponsored Private Members Bill to improve access to flexible working looks set to become law. We have supported the Bill as a small step in the right direction while calling for stronger rights. 

The TUC has also made multiple interventions highlighting the need for an advertising duty and the impact that a lack of flexible working has for gender and disability pay gaps. We have run events for MPs, and included flexible working in our submission to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum. And in line with resolution 24, we have called for more generous entitlements following bereavement. 

The TUC has made numerous media interventions on working time. We published analysis showing that UK workers put in £26bn of unpaid overtime last year. We have drawn attention to the challenges experienced by night workers. And we have continued to call for the creation of four more bank holidays. 

2.10 Health and safety 

The TUC has campaigned to ensure that the health, safety and welfare of workers is protected by strong union organisation and a growing network of health and safety reps with access to high-quality guidance and advice. We have delivered a series of introductory courses, targeting women and Black members who are underrepresented in the safety rep role. We have produced a range of resources to support workplace activists alongside webinars focused on inspections, working in extreme temperatures, the menopause and stress. And, in response to resolutions 16 and 29, TUC Education has produced a new reps’ resource on working temperatures. 

The Union Health and Safety Specialists network met throughout the year and discussed various issues of concern. In response to composite 12 and resolution 45, the TUC joined the call for universal access to occupational health services, supporting the Society for Occupational Medicine’s campaign, and launched a new training course on work-related stress. 

In the run-up to International Workers’ Memorial Day in April, the TUC focused on the threat to health and safety legislation from the government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. 

We continued to call for the strengthening of regulatory bodies, and, in line with composite 15, for more funding for the cash-strapped Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This included a report ahead of the Covid-19 public inquiry detailing the consequences of austerity measures on the HSE’s core functions. The TUC has also called for safety regulators to extend their remit and change policy where necessary, for example in favour of asbestos removal, or the investigation of work-related suicide. And in line with resolution 30, we have supported stronger legislation on appropriate equipment, clothing and footwear for workers. 

The TUC continued in the role of secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Occupational Health and Safety and the Sub-Group on Asbestos, engaging with parliamentarians and sector organisations on a range of issues and campaigns. This year the APPG co-sponsored research into the presence of asbestos in public buildings, with members providing political support in parliament and in the media. 

2.11 Covid public inquiry 

The independent public inquiry into Covid-19 began full hearings in June. Set up to examine the UK’s response to the pandemic, the inquiry also seeks to learn lessons for the future. The pandemic had a profound impact on working people, with many thousands dying after contracting the virus in the course of their work. The government’s failure to provide adequate PPE, ensure safe working environments and invest in public services undoubtedly made a bad situation worse.

The TUC applied for, and was granted, core participant status for module 1 into pandemic preparedness, module 2 into government decision making, modules 2a, b and c into devolved administration decision making, and module 3 into healthcare. 

Despite the inquiry’s refusal to grant any form of funding to the TUC for this work, we have made representations at all preliminary hearings. We have secured a focus on equalities across all the inquiry’s modules, and ensured austerity is front and centre of module 1. 

The TUC found those in insecure occupations were twice as likely to die of Covid-19 than those in more secure employment. We have also shown that having the lowest statutory sick pay in the OECD too often left workers facing the choice between following public health advice or feeding their families. 

Our report Austerity and the Pandemic sets out how steep cuts to almost every part of the public sector fatally weakened the UK’s capacity to respond to the pandemic. When the pandemic hit in 2020, spending per capita was still lower than in 2010 in social care, transport, housing, childcare, schools, higher education, police services, fire services, and environmental protection. At the same time, our social security safety net had been damaged by benefit freezes and reforms that reduced entitlement and narrowed eligibility. These social security cuts increased the poverty levels associated with greater risk of exposure, transmission and vulnerability to more serious health consequences.