Trade unions must fight for real political representation
Iain Dalton, Socialist Party Usdaw caucus convenor
Following opposition led by the Tories and Lib-Dems in the unelected House of Lords, Keir Starmer has signalled a further retreat on the Employment Rights Bill he had pledged to ‘deliver in full’. Instead of introducing protections against dismissal from day one of employment, workers will have to go six months without those protections (down from the current two years). This makes it easier for employers to unjustly sack workers.
This is the latest U-turn on the package of workers’ rights that many trade union leaders gave as the main reason to back Labour at the last general election. But since its initial outing as the ‘New Deal for Workers’, provisions on fire and rehire and zero-hour contracts have also been watered down. This led to Unite the Union refusing to sign off the proposals.
My union Usdaw, which represents retail workers, is affiliated to the Labour Party. General secretary Joanne Thomas issued an open letter to Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, after two Green Party Lords – former leader Natalie Bennett, and former London Assembly member Jenny Jones – voted with the Tories and Liberals in favour of limiting protection from dismissal until after six months. This, as Thomas pointed out, sharply contrasts with Polanski’s pro-worker rhetoric.
Some Green Party members attempted to defend Polanski by saying that Green representatives aren’t whipped – which highlights the issue. What’s the point of a party with pro-worker policies if elected (and unelected) representatives can simply decide to ignore them? All representatives of a genuine workers’ party would need to be held to account by the membership.
We need our own party
While right-wing trade union leaders like the TUC’s Paul Novak welcomed the news, Unite’s Sharon Graham described the amended bill as a “shell of its former self”. Usdaw’s leadership has so far remained silent on Starmer’s U-turn. It is a betrayal that shows yet again that the Labour Party is far more concerned with the interests of big business than those of workers and the trade unions they collectively organise in.
Working-class people and trade unionists need a political voice that stands firm in their interests, rather than being prepared to sacrifice them under the pressure of big business. This would go beyond the welcome, but limited, measures in the Employment Rights Bill and would scrap all Tory anti-union legislation. In light of this latest Labour betrayal, we will continue to campaign in Usdaw so that instead of funding candidates who break their meagre promises to workers, they can instead ensure they fund candidates that are prepared to stand firm in defence of union policies on this and other issues.
