Liverpool TUC's
Secretary: Mark Hoskisson
President: Denis Dunphy
Treasurer: John Farmer
Dear Brothers and sisters
Join Liverpool TUC's "Time to fight back" march, 13 September 2009 Assemble 12.30pm at the Pier Head, Liverpool
Liverpool Trades Union Council has agreed to welcome the presence of the national TUC Congress in our city by calling on all workers to join us in a demonstration.
We warmly welcome all delegates at the TUC to our city. We believe there is an urgent need for the trade union movement to unite and start acting in defence of jobs for all, for trade union rights, against the victimisation of workers, against privatisation, against pay freezes and against the anti-union laws.
These are the themes for our march on Sunday 13 September. We want to show delegates the strength of feeling on these issues that exists across the entire movement. That feeling has been shown in action by workers fighting back against the impact of the terrible economic crisis - for example, by the Lindsey Oil Refinery workers who took all out strike action to defend jobs, by Visteon workers and by the workers at Vestas who courageously occupied their factories to stop closures and mass sackings.
These strikes, and others, have been an inspiration. They need to become the signals for a fight back by the whole movement. It is time to unite and fight back. It is time to end the economic parody being played out before our eyes where workers are sacked, have their pay cut or their industries privatised while the bosses and bankers gorge themselves on fat bonuses, lavish salaries and government handouts that run into billions.
Why should the bosses get huge rewards for mismanaging an entire economy but we get a P45, the job seekers allowance or a pay cut?
Our movement can start to turn things round, but only if it unites to support those fighting back, only if it stops believing that a redundancy deal is the best we can hope for, only if it stops accepting that workers have to pay the price for an economic crisis that they did not cause.
A huge march in Liverpool will get this year's TUC off to a flying start. It can signal the beginning of a new resistance, a resistance that can win. We urge you, your branch, shop stewards' committee, region, Trades Council and national union to support us. Come to Liverpool on 13 September 2009.
Yours in solidarity
Liverpool Trades Union Council
