Two leading labour movement activists, FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack and McStrike organiser Shen Batmaz, spoke to Free Our Unions about why the demand to repeal the anti-union laws is so important.
Author Archives: freeourunions
Young Labour national policy on repealing the anti-union laws/workers’ rights
The following two motions were passed at Young Labour policy conference in October 2017, building on the policy passed by Labour Party conference in September.
Six arguments against abolishing all the anti-union laws – Six replies
If we build a strong campaign to repeal the anti-trade union laws, in line with the policy passed unanimously at Labour Party conference last year (and policy passed in 2015 and 2005), we will face all kinds of objections from the press, the Tories, etc, backed up by outrage designed to intimidate people and prevent rational discussion. The danger isContinue reading “Six arguments against abolishing all the anti-union laws – Six replies”
The anti-union laws: acid test for a Corbyn government
“[Since 1980, trade unions have been] regulated, harried, battered, fined and sequestrated, step by step by step, in Act after Act in pursuit of aim of decollectivising the workplace.” – Labour peer Bill Wedderburn on the last of nine Tory anti-union Acts, 1993
If Jeremy Corbyn wants a mass movement, he must radically revive the unions
By Michael Chessum, orginally published in The New Statesman, 5th January 2018 The world, especially the political world, is a volatile place these days, and one ought to be wary of omens. But when McDonalds announced this week that it would award its employees their biggest pay rise in a decade, you could be forgiven for havingContinue reading “If Jeremy Corbyn wants a mass movement, he must radically revive the unions”
Bob Crow and John Hendy on why we must repeal the anti-union laws
In 1998, in their pamphlet Reclaim Our Rights – Repeal the Anti-Union Laws published by the campaign of the same name, Bob Crow (then RMT assistant general secretary) and John Hendy QC wrote:
Labour votes to scrap all anti-union laws – build a campaign!
By Ruth Cashman, Lambeth Unison joint-Branch Secretary At the end of September, Labour Party conference voted unanimously for a motion to scrap the anti-trade union laws – not just the 2016 Trade Union Act, but also “anti-union laws introduced in the 1980s and 90s” by the Thatcher and Major Tory governments. “For unions to beContinue reading “Labour votes to scrap all anti-union laws – build a campaign!”
“Young workers turned up for us – we must turn up for them”
The following speech was delivered by Maria Bagnall, delegate from Charnwood CLP in Leicestershire, at Labour Party conference. The motion she was supporting established clear Labour policy for supporting workers’ struggles, for repeal of all anti-trade union laws and for positive legal rights for workers and their unions.
Tamworth CLP submits conference resolution on McDonald’s strike and union rights
On the same day that McDonald’s workers in Crayford and Cambridge made history by going on strike, demonstrating the power of workers getting together and organising, it was an honor to propose to my CLP, in Tamworth, that it send a contemporary resolution to conference supporting the strike (see below). It also talks about otherContinue reading “Tamworth CLP submits conference resolution on McDonald’s strike and union rights”
Solidarity strikes and Labour democracy
Labour Party conference 2015 voted unanimously for a motion that committed the next Labour government to “legislate for strong rights to unionise, win recognition and collective bargaining, strike, picket and take solidarity action”, on the basis of a motion promoted by the Right to Strike campaign formed to fight the Trade Union Bill (now Act) and all anti-unionContinue reading “Solidarity strikes and Labour democracy”
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