{"id":6592,"date":"2015-11-02T17:45:07","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T17:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=6592"},"modified":"2015-11-03T14:41:48","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T14:41:48","slug":"a-complete-bashing-of-tu-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=6592","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098A complete bashing of TU rights\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Thousands gathered at a TUC Support the Right to Strike lobby and rally in London today (November 2), where trade unionists from across the country came to fight the trade union Bill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, among the guest speakers at the rally, urged the packed crowd to stand confident in their fight because justice was on their side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bRemember that 75 per cent of the electorate did not vote for this government \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so for them to even suggest that they have a mandate to do what they are doing is simply wrong,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey highlighted that opposition to the Bill \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which will impose strike thresholds, allow agency workers and criminalise illegal pickets, among other measures \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has come from all sides, including Conservative MPs, civil liberties organisations and one of the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own regulatory bodies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI can tell you that, as someone who deals with all the major manufacturing companies in the nation, not a single CEO of any of those national companies are in favour of this Bill,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He railed against prime minister David Cameron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s assertion that strike thresholds included in the Bill were in place only to make ballots more democratic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Real purpose <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe got an easy answer for him \u00e2\u20ac\u201c give us secure workplace balloting and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never have to worry about turnouts every again,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take up that offer, then he will expose the real purpose behind this bill, which is to emasculate our movement, which is the biggest voluntary organisation within our nations. With our families, we represent over 10m people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are not the enemy within,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey argued. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrade unionists are the very people who create the wealth in our society. Trade unionists teach our children, heal our sick, look after our vulnerable and care for our elderly, clean our streets, collect our refuse, and create the cohesiveness of the communities in which we live.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dozens of Labour MPs came out to show their support for trade unions and assert their continued commitment to opposing the Bill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, spoke to UNITElive about the Bill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to absolutely destroy the rights of trade unions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but not only that, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going destroy the funding of the Labour party to make it less possible to be elected again,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to realise that people have fought for over a hundred years to get the rights that we have today and those rights are basic rights. We need stronger rights and we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want them to be stripped away.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Long-Bailey highlighted the importance of continued public pressure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so important to have events like today \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to have mass lobbies to encourage MPs who aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t otherwise supporters of trade unions so that they understand that this is a fundamental breach of workers, political and human rights,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She explained the critical role trade unions play in the wider economy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c whether you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a trade union or not, we all benefit from them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrade unions are so important because they actually make our economy more productive,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf you look at statistics from around the world, the countries that have stronger trade unions, have more better and more productive economies.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jo Stevens, MP for Cardiff Central, highlighted just how dangerous the Bill would be for working people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Illegal Bill <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis Bill will affect more than 6m people across the country,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an illegal bill, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illiterate and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illogical. It breaches international law, it breaches treaty obligations, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really dangerous from a civil liberties and human rights perspective. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to create a two-tier civil liberties system in the UK \u00e2\u20ac\u201c one for trade unionists and one for everybody else.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Stevens said that she and other Labour MPs will continue to fight the bill, no matter what it takes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been opposing the Bill throughout,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was on the Bill committee that heard evidence from trade union general secretaries, from experts, from civil liberties organisations \u00e2\u20ac\u201c nobody is in favour of this Bill and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to continue to oppose it. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to get the public behind us because this is a really dangerous and draconian bill.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member James Godfrey urged working people to take heart, because he and other trade unionists have fought a similar battle in Australia \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and won.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked in Australia for a trade union at a time when the Conservative government there legislated against workers through the WorkChoices laws, and we actively campaigned there against the government and against the legislation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCollectively, people got together up and down the country and the legislation was eventually repealed. This is another opportunity the Conservative government here has given us to expose them for who they really are.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John Gunn, Unite chair of a branch which encompasses the North West ambulance service, told UNITElive why he came for the rally and lobby today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Democratic right<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here to defend our democratic right to ballot without any preconditions of extra numbers to reach those thresholds, which works okay if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re an MP or if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the police commissioner, who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to reach thresholds to be elected,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut they want to impose these thresholds only on unions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a complete bashing of union rights.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite regional officer Banso Loi said she attended so that she could \u00e2\u20ac\u015btake the message back to reps and members\u00e2\u20ac\u0165, in order to help them fight the Bill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis Bill is incredibly dangerous because it completely takes our rights away,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she explained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had women and men die fighting to have the rights we have today. Strikes are always a last resort in order to get a message across to employers. Apart from this right, we have nothing else to protect us as workers and we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just let it slip out of our hands.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stay tuned on UNITElive as the trade union Bill goes before MPs for its report stage and third reading next Tuesday (November 10).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still time to email your MP and tell them why you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re against the Bill. It takes only a few minutes, and strengthens our collective voice in Parliament. Find out more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands gathered at a TUC Support the Right to Strike lobby and rally in London today (November 2), where trade unionists from across the country came to fight the trade union Bill.   Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, among the guest speakers at the rally, urged the packed crowd to stand confident in their fight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[344],"wps_subtitle":"Unite members fight against bill","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6592"}],"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=6592"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6608,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6592\/revisions\/6608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}