News you might have missed

Friday 09th February 2018

The government this week responded to the Taylor Review with its ‘Good Work Plan’, promising to raise awareness of employment rights among businesses and workers (but barely offering any new ones) and to place heavier sanctions on those who break the law (but only for the worst offenders).

It is notable, however, that the Good Work Plan falls short of even Taylor’s recommendations, which themselves were widely criticised for tinkering around the edges without committing to the much-needed reform of a system that has favoured individual protections over collective ones, weakening workers’ rights overall, since the Thatcher years.

For instance, the government does not commit to ending so-called Swedish Derogation laws, which allow agency workers to be paid less than permanent colleagues doing the same job. Instead, it has launched yet another consultation into the issue.

The proposals touch on issues around pay, employment status, quality of work, and transparency, but hardly broach employee engagement despite the weight that Taylor put on the urgent need for workers to have a stronger voice at work. Trade unions and their vital role in this were not mentioned at all.

Raising awareness of existing rights is not enough when the system continues to rely on workers to police their own rights, often on an individual basis. The Institute of Employment Rights recommends the establishment of an Independent Labour Inspectorate to monitor compliance with the law, and with the power to rectify breaches; the repeal of laws that weaken trade union rights, so that workers can better hold their employers to account; the re-instatement of sectoral collective bargainig, so that workers can negotiate for better pay and conditions; and the reinstatement of a Ministry of Labour to give workers a voice in parliament.

Our NHS is facing a huge new threat. The governments eyeing up new trade deals with countries like America – and Theresa May is refusing to rule out putting the NHS on the negotiating table. [1] That could mean US private healthcare companies taking over parts of our NHS, and getting new powers to sue the UK government to demand more NHS contracts. [2]

But we’ve got a chance to stop it. A law going through parliament right now would let the government do these kinds of trade deals in secret, and stop MPs and the public from having a say on them. MPs get a vote on this new law in the next few weeks. We don’t have long to convince them to stand up for their right to have a say on trade deals that could put our NHS at risk.

Already over 260,000 of us have signed a petition against the plans for closed door trade deals. But more people need to get involved if we’re going to stop this threat to the NHS. Every extra signature shows MPs that the public is against trade deals being done in secret.

If you think MPs and the public should get a say on trade deals that could risk our NHS, add your name to the petition today. It takes less than a minute to sign:

SIGN THE PETITION

Experts have been warning for years about the danger our NHS could face from these kinds of trade deals. Other trade deals America has – like their one with Canada – has something called an “investor-state dispute settlement” system, which allows private companies to sue governments if their laws would limit the companies’ profits. That could mean private companies suing our government for the right to run NHS services – even if MPs didn’t want to let them. [3]

Getting trade deals right might not sound like something that affects you day to day. But it couldn’t be more important. Good trade deals can boost the economy, create jobs, and improve opportunities for all of us. [4] But when trade deals are done badly, it can be a disaster. It could mean lost jobs, lower standards for food, and threats to our public services. [5]

Together we’ve made the government back down on things like this before. When the government wanted to use so-called “Henry VIII” powers to pass new laws after Brexit in secret, hundreds of thousands of us spoke out and forced the government to change its mind. [6] And now MPs will be given a vote on all our laws after Brexit. Let’s make sure the people we choose as our voices in parliament have a say on our future trade deals too.

If you think the government should listen to the public when making big decisions on trade deals, please sign the petition now. Can you help it pass 300,000 signatures today?:

SIGN THE PETITION

We’re making progress! Last night, Chris Grayling said that (temporary) public ownership of the East Coast line is ‘very much on the table’!

The current situation is apparently urgent, Stagecoach and Virgin can’t deliver, and the Transport Secretary says we need a solution before the franchise collapses.

Grayling has asked his department to look at two options – 1) Stagecoach continuing on the East Coast line on a not for profit basis or 2) public ownership.

We’ve helped put public ownership on Grayling’s agenda – now we need to show the huge support behind it! Grayling definitely hasn’t given up on rail privatisation and he’s just awarded a contract to Virgin on the West Coast line, despite their recent failures (check out the story with a quote from us in the Mirror). We need to dig deeper into his proposals.

BUT he’s actively considering public ownership. 76% of us want the railways in public hands. Now we’ve got a chance of actually making it happen!

The Carillion crisis shows it’s time to take back control from contractors.

The news this week has been dominated by the collapse of Carillion. Tens of thousands of jobs are on the line, as are many vital services that people across the UK rely on. Check out our blog from GMB General Secretary Tim Roache on how the crisis shows it’s high time we take back control from private contractors.

Equally as worrying are the ongoing trade negotiations that are taking place ahead of Brexit. Nick Dearden from Global Justice Now explains why the EU Withdrawal Bill that received its second reading in parliament recently is a power grab affecting everything from workers’ rights to how we run our public services.

And finally, this week CLASS welcomed a new staff member, Dhelia, who will be working as a Research Analyst on our upcoming Race and Class project with the Runnymede Trust. Welcome Dhelia!

The CLASS Team

TUED made significant gains in 2017, both in terms of the network’s growth, and in making concrete advances in the struggle for energy democracy in several important local, national and regional contexts.

The TUED network now includes more than 60 unions and close allies from 22 countries, from both North and South. In 2017, new unions joined from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Europe, Nepal, Norway, Sweden, Uganda, and the United States.

TUED’s research and analysis continues to deepen and sharpen debates over political strategies that can help deliver the urgent transition we need, and achieve real gains for workers and communities as we struggle together for a sustainable future. TUED and its participating unions helped win significant policy victories in both the UK Trades Union Congress and the US AFL-CIO, and made important additional gains in Europe, Latin America, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Regional meetings are being planned in 2018 for both Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, with additional possibilities under discussion.

“Energy democracy” and “just transition” are attracting support from a growing numbers of unions, but also from major environmental organizations and other social forces. TUED continues to advance a forward-looking trade union perspective within this growing movement, in ways that address the need for expanding social ownership and democratic control over energy resources, infrastructure and options. Today, energy democracy is a key component of a broad and inclusive vision of economic democracy and social justice.

TUED has produced a short video that reviews these milestones from 2017 and more, which you can view here.

VSC EMERGENCY UPDATE, FEBRUARY 2018

Tillerson Invokes Possibility of Pinochet-Style Coup in Venezuela
Alarm bells have been ringing in Latin America after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson raised the prospect of a military coup against Venezuela’s elected President, and seemingly praised past military dictatorships as “agents of change” (more here.) This is a disgrace. Right-wing military regimes took hold in many countries in the 1970’s and 80’s with U.S backing, often by toppling left-leaning governments. These dictatorships, which usurped power in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, led to some 60,000 deaths, thousands of disappearances and exiles, as well as the use of torture tactics. Victims included dissidents and leftists, union and peasant leaders, priests and nuns, and many others. And if this wasn’t bad enough, Tillerson has since been touring the region seeking support for the Trump administration’s anti-Venezuela agenda, including through raising the possibility of banning Venezuelan oil (see here.)

Here are 3 things YOU can do to help sound the alarm and support our solidarity work:

1) ATTEND the emergency rally against Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela and Nicaragua on March 15 (details below) with Chris Williamson MP and guests from Latin America. Register here and invite friends here.

2) SHARE the news re Tillerson on Facebook here plus Twitter here, and follow us on Facebook here and Twitter here to get the latest.

3) DONATE here to our #NoTrump Financial Appeal – if only a few more people donate £20 here we will reach our £10,000 target.