Demand the TUC organises a demo against Labour austerity

Dan Warrington, NEU Executive Committee member, personal capacity

As Trade Union Congress (TUC) prepares for its 157^th Congress in September, grassroots trade unionists continue to demand that the TUC stands up against the Labour government’s programme of austerity.

The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) will be lobbying the TUC in Brighton on 7 September, calling for the TUC to organise a national demonstration against Starmer’s cuts, as proposed in a motion from the trades council conference to the TUC.

Despite running on a manifesto pledging to implement “change” and “national renewal”, after a year in power it is increasingly clear to workers that Starmer’s Labour government has nothing to offer except a continuation (or possible intensification) of Tory-style austerity. While attacks on elderly and disabled people have been partially fought back, Rachel Reeves’ pursuit of the fiscal rules she herself fabricated means public services will yet again see their budgets cut in real terms and be expected to find “efficiency savings”.

As the workers’ bodies that led to the founding of the Labour Party at the turn of the 20^th century, the trades unions, which come together in the TUC, should have considerable sway over Starmer’s government. Yet, as Labour austerity hits the livelihoods of ordinary workers, the response from the TUC leadership has so far been lacklustre.

However, the cracks are beginning to show, with one of the biggest unions Unite the Union now openly reconsidering its continued affiliation to Labour following a massive vote at its conference. Many other unions, both within the TUC and without, will face member-led campaigns to back Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s ‘Your Party’ project, which already counts 700,000 supporters, and for the unions to play a central role in it. 

The TUC should stand by its members in the face of cuts to the public services they rely on, and use its influence to increase the pressure on the government. Calling a national demonstration of workers on the same scale seen in March 2011, when over 750,000 workers took to the streets of London against the Tory-LibDem coalition government cuts, would send a clear message to Labour MPs: you can no longer take the backing of the trade union movement for granted! The 2011 demo was followed that November by over two million public sector workers going on strike together – in what was effectively a 24-hour public sector general strike – against Tory attacks to pensions.

Should Labour refuse to listen to the TUC, the case for unions to disaffiliate and build a new workers’ party will be solidified.

Join the NSSN lobby of the TUC in Brighton on 7 September. Call on the TUC to organise a national demonstration against Labour austerity.