{"id":4098,"date":"2015-05-08T12:37:08","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T11:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=4098"},"modified":"2015-05-11T17:28:57","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T16:28:57","slug":"draconian-threat-to-union-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=4098","title":{"rendered":"‘Draconian’ threat to union actions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the Tories are set to barely eke out an overall Commons majority this morning (May 8), TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady condemned Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s divisive political tactics that will now spell another five years of pain and suffering for working people across the country.<\/p>\n

 
\n“We have to hope that David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge to govern as a one nation Prime Minister will be his first major U-turn – for his campaign and manifesto was anything but,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHis main political tactic was to talk up nationalism and deny the legitimacy of Scottish voters. And his programme for government is as divisive as they come.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Chillingly deep cuts<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nAs UNITElive has previously reported, the chillingly deep cuts to welfare that were at the centre of Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign were never detailed, and O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady noted that this can only mean that ordinary workers will now continue to bear the brunt of an unjust austerity regime.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe welfare cuts that he has refused to outline only add up if taken from those in low paid work and the vulnerable, and will be used to fund tax cuts for the better off,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady outlined what today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Tory victory will mean for trade unions and the workers they represent.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015b[Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s] proposals on trade union law are so draconian that they would make legal strikes close to impossible,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis puts him far to the right of almost every mainstream party in advanced democracies, and is likely to leave many of his more thoughtful backbenchers uneasy at a time when living standards are still running well below pre-crash levels.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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But O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady was unyielding in her resolve that trade unions would not take the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 attacks on working people lying down.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe will face an unprecedented campaign from Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unions against this attack on the basic rights of people at work,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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Damaging effects<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nO\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady went on to warn of the damaging effects a potential EU referendum would have for Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economic future.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe prospect of a referendum on Europe will be destabilising for business and the economy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany of our best jobs and workplace rights depend on EU membership. I say to business leaders today that if you press for stripping away worker rights, environmental protection and consumer safeguards as part of a renegotiation then it will be harder to win the yes vote we need for a prosperous Britain.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady called for a period of introspection from opposition parties but argued that now was a critical time to continue to challenge the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pro-austerity narrative.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOther parties have had a disappointing night with talented and serious figures from both Labour and Liberal Democrats losing their seats,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOpposition parties should not rush to glib explanations for what looks like a complex result with very different trends in different parts of the country.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut while they will need time and energy to rebuild they should not go quiet and allow the new government to win arguments uncontested – especially as we still only see a slow and patchy recovery that could be easily derailed by deep rushed spending cuts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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As the Tories are set to barely eke out an overall Commons majority this morning (May 8), TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady condemned Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s divisive political tactics that will now spell another five years of pain and suffering for working people across the country.   “We have to hope that David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pledge to govern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1813,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[224],"wps_subtitle":"Tory win could now make legal strikes \u00e2\u20ac\u0098close to impossible\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4098"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4098"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4099,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4098\/revisions\/4099"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}