Alex Moore, Plymouth NEU District Secretary (personal capacity)
The National Shop Stewards Network Devon and Cornwall (NSSN) convened on 13 July. Duncan Moore (UCU NEC), reported back from the NSSN Annual Conference and moved the motion to support the Workers’ Manifesto (see below).
After a good debate about what would be required to ensure Labour does carry out the manifesto’s policies, some amendments and additions were agreed by the meeting and will be sent to the NSSN steering committee.
Dave Goard (RMT NEC) and RMT member Chris Bligh argued for renationalisation of the railways including the rolling stock companies, not just the train operating companies. Therefore, paragraph two should call for “renationalisation in its entirety”.
The UCU branch secretary from Plymouth City College also supported calls from RMT and G4S GMB members to add: “To end outsourcing of employees and bring workers back in-house with trade union recognition.” This includes HR employees who have been outsourced to private HR companies.
Equity member Tony Bligh also moved to add: “Funding for culture, media and the arts should be restored to publicly owned bodies.” He pointed out that public money was being given to private companies that should not be responsible for vetting applications for funding.
Further local strike actions were announced including Health Care Assistants at Derriford Hospital, GMB G4S, RMT members in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and First Bus drivers in Cornwall.
I reported how the NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede (and others) are verbally putting pressure on the Labour government over pay, adding that it would take serious action and a campaign to win strike ballots to force the government to meet our demands.
The NSSN Lobby of the TUC in September was also raised and supported, with TUC delegates present agreeing to attend.
All those who attended and spoke did so in a personal capacity
Model motion agreed at NSSN Conference
This NSSN Conference (and subsequently union branch/trades council) agrees with the need to fight for a workers’ manifesto of policies, to be implemented after the likely election of a Labour Government after 4 July. These include this list that the NSSN has been campaigning for:
- To repeal Sunak’s ‘Strike Minimum Service Levels Act (MSL) along with Cameron’s Trade Union Act 2016, and all the rest of the Tory anti-union laws, going back to Thatcher and Major
- To re-nationalise Royal Mail, BT, buses, the energy and utility companies, steel. Immediate re-nationalisation of the railways, rather than waiting for franchises to expire
- To end privatisation in the NHS and our public services
- For an emergency funding grant for local authorities to prevent the current and pending Tory council cuts onslaught, ensuring the withdrawal of Section 114 notices. This would be the first step in restoring the 40% cut from council budgets since 2010
- For a real inflation-proof pay rise for workers, that protects our living standards. For a £15-an-hour minimum wage with no age exemptions
- Abolish ‘fire and rehire’ and zero-hour contracts
- Workers’ rights from day one of employment
We believe that it essential that the trade unions fight for the implementation of policies in the interests of workers.
We welcome the rally hosted by the NSSN before the start of this year’s TUC Congress in Brighton on Sunday 8 September, which will take place two-thirds of the way through the first 100 days of the Labour government.
We believe that this will be an important event in highlighting and campaigning for the policies that workers need. We therefore agree to support the NSSN TUC Rally and send members to it and publicise it.
