Katrine Williams, delegate from Cardiff Trades Council
There was a determined mood at this year’s Trades Council conference in Leeds, with a much larger turnout of delegates from more trades councils than we had seen for the past few years, and a good number of younger delegates.
Showing our role in building trades councils, 11 Socialist Party members were delegates and intervened positively in all the key debates. At the evening social looking at the 1926 General Strike it was fascinating to hear the research done by various trades councils about their role in the strike as local councils of action coordinating workers and unions.
As well as the clear recognition of the role we can play in the movement going forward – we had a glimpse during the strike wave a few years ago of the key role we can play mobilising solidarity and linking up workers in our communities.
Delegates took the key issues for workers struggling in a cost-of-living crisis very seriously. Recognising the need to press hard for the immediate repeal of the anti-union legislation including the 50% strike threshold, and the need to fight for much needed improvements to workers’ rights with a second Employment Rights Bill. The reluctance to repeal the 50% threshold by the Starmer government shows the fear it has of workers mobilising, especially against their pitiful public sector pay offers and threats to jobs and conditions. Trades councils are in a key position to build up the anger over low pay and to promote the need to fight back on the continuing attacks on public sector pay and services.
The debates on tackling the far right made clear the role our trade union movement can actively play fighting the cuts and delivering a positive strategy to fight for what is needed under the slogan of ‘jobs and homes not racism’. This can cut across the way that Reform is trying to tap into the anger and frustration in our areas as a result of the vacuum created by the crisis in working-class political representation. The need to steward and defend protests properly is also a key issue we must take up in the movement. A recent workshop run by the TUC focused too much on what we can do individually, rather than tapping into the appetite trades council delegates had to up the ante for more collective action led by the trade union movement to tackle the far right.
A number of delegates and motions made clear that the TUC should have given a lead as demanded by congress policy passed last year to organise a national demo against Starmer’s austerity. That would have been an ideal opportunity to harness working-class frustration in a positive direction and demonstrate the strength of our movement to tackle the attacks on pay, jobs and services. The emergency motion from Coventry Trades Council highlighted the need for the TUC to act, and for trades councils to play a leading role in discussing a new political direction in advance of the council elections next year.
Debates highlighted the damaging role of the private sector in our public services, threat of AI, housing crisis, preparing for further battles against disability cuts, and cuts in community services which has resulted in the continued neglect of all women, including trans women, facing violence and abuse and the global crisis.
The Trades Union Councils Joint Consultative Committee’s rule change was carried to coopt a member of the TUC young workers’ committee to our meetings to increase the benefits of working together to address the precarious position of many young workers.
All through the debates there was a degree of frustration with the lack of recognition of the militant role that trades councils are playing, and the conference voted to send the motion to Congress to demand a fuller role at this conference and a representative on the General Council to address this.
