Bea Gardner, Socialist Party finance organiser
There are now over 6.6 million trade union members in Britain and growing. In fact,192,000 workers joined a union last year.
Workers are confronted by vicious attacks on jobs, terms and conditions. They have experienced over a decade of stagnant wages and an intensifying cost-of-living crisis. There is no shortage of reasons why workers are looking toward the trade unions to defend their interests in the workplace and beyond.
Socialist Party members are at the forefront of fighting in the unions for the strategy needed to do that. Our members on national executive committees (NECs), working alongside others where we can, have pushed reluctant trade union leaders to call sector-wide, coordinated industrial-action ballots on pay, including in the PCS and the UCU.
The National Shop Stewards Network, in which we play a leading role, has connected militant trade unionists and put the trade union leaders under pressure to act. We have battled for the TUC to take the lead in the fight against ongoing austerity policies that have decimated the very public services where the majority of trade union members in Britain work. We are not letting up in demanding that the TUC call a Saturday anti-austerity demonstration as agreed at September’s TUC Congress. And of course, we have been calling on the unions to back-up students striking on 20 November, winning official support from the NEU.
6.6 million union workers
We understand that those 6.6 million workers, when mobilised collectively, can be a powerful force to transform society. As part of that process, the Socialist Party is actively organising for those 6.6 million trade union members to have a political voice.
These are all reasons why your donations to the Socialist Party are so vital.
In the first few months of the new year, NEC elections will take place. We want to stand more candidates who will be prepared to back workers in their struggle. They will fight for what is needed on those leading bodies and channel members’ anger into pressure on the union leaders to act.
Pending the outcome of national ballots, we will be battling within these unions for the industrial action strategy needed to win – we will need to produce and distribute strike bulletins to put forward what is needed and overcome any attempts to undermine workers’ confidence they can win.
We will continue to bring solidarity to striking workers in dispute and discuss how to take their fights forward. We will continue fighting with the unions for councils to resist austerity using no-cuts needs-based budgets. We will continue to appeal for a trade unionist stand in next year’s local elections. All of that comes with a cost. So as part of our Socialism 2026 appeal, we ask you to fund the party leading the fight back in the trade unions.
Help us reach our £50,000 target. Donate to our Socialism 2026 appeal today!
