Union conferences

CWU faces change

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) met for its conference on 29 April-3 May. It took place as the union finalised reorganisation plans ("Redesign"), to tackle declining membership, in the context of industrial change in both the telecoms/financial services and post/courier sectors. An emergency motion from the National Executive on Brexit passed at the union′s general conference (attended by delegates from both sides of the union) was widely reported in the press. The conference voted decisively for ″Labour′s Manifesto commitment″ to deliver ″a Brexit deal that prioritises jobs and living...

Union to boycott high-stake school tests; "Stand up for what's right"

On 15 April, the first day of the National Education Union (NEU) conference, delegates voted to ballot primary members for a boycott of all high stakes summative testing, including Key Stage 1 and 2 SATs and the phonics tests. An (electronic) consultative ballot will run from 4 June to 12 July or later. Disaggregated “real” ballots will follow at the end of 2019, in areas and schools where there has been sufficient response to the consultative ballot, and will conclude in January 2020. This was the fourth successive years that supporters of a boycott had put such a motion. They had responded...

Accessible Workplaces

On 26-27 April more than thirty disabled transport workers attended the RMT trade union’s largest Disabled Members’ Conference yet. Every delegate contributed to debates and discussions, which covered subjects including accessible public transport, mental health, and “reasonable adjustments”. On the latter, the conference stressed that our priority is to win accessible workplaces, rather than leave the onus on individual workers to ask for personal changes. Delegates also condemned the personality testing used by many employers, which seeks to enforce social conformity in the workplace and...

An open letter to the SWP

I’m writing this letter as a working class woman, a teaching assistant, a trade unionist and a revolutionary socialist. Oh, and did I mention that I am really angry too! Last week I returned from the inaugural conference of the National Education Union (NEU) — a union that has joined teaching staff and support workers together for the first time — or should have! There were many of the traits which I expected of you at this conference: refusal to debate, shouty slogans with no political depth to them, and your attempts to gain political glory. But what I didn’t expect was this… On 15 April I...

NEU votes for primary tests boycott

Above: campaigners at the conference At the conference of the National Education Union (NEU: Liverpool, 15-18 April) the left has won a major and hard-fought-for victory to ballot all primary members for a boycott of all high-stakes summative tests in primary. That position has been lost at conference for the last four years in favour of vague promises over surveys and building for a future ballot. The architects and main drivers of this victory have been Workers’ Liberty supporters and the main motion was moved by a Workers’ Liberty member. This is the first conference of the new union...

RMT AGM: support these motions!

Supporters of Off The Rails, a platform for rank-and-file rail workers published by Workers' Liberty, have proposed and supported a number of motions in their RMT branches, for submission to the RMT AGM. These include motions on:

  • RMT officers' pay - Bakerloo branch
  • The "Free Our Unions" campaign -...
  • RMT women step forward

    The Women's Conference of the rail union RMT on 1 and 2 March was hosted by Dover Shipping Branch and was themed around "women in maritime". Jacqui Smith, Maritime Co-ordinator from the International Transport Workers' Federation, told us of ITF's recent battle to stop shipping companies using mandatory pregnancy testing before employing female workers. The conference passed a motion to instruct RMT to develop an organising plan specifically aimed at recruiting women seafarers to the RMT, an initiative that is long overdue. Another resolution asked the RMT to carry out a survey of female...

    Industrial news in brief

    Outsourced workers from four trade unions united for a day of action on Tuesday 26 February. Members of the IWGB at University of London, UVW at the Ministry of Justice, and PCS at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy all struck to demand better pay and conditions, and direct employment. RMT London Transport Regional Council, which organises outsourced workers on London Underground, also supported the demonstration. Guards' jobs: nail down the deal! The breakthrough in the big railworkers’ dispute to save train guards’ jobs is a cause for celebration, but some caution...

    NEU Conference Motions - 2019

    Workers' Liberty schoolworkers have written a raft of motions for NEU conference, covering a range of issues from testing and teachers' pay through to union democracy and the representation of support staff, fighting the anti-union laws, defending free movement and more!

    See if you can get one or...

    Unite, backed by Morning Star, betray automotive workers

    The Unite union’s policy conference in July received a large number of motions on Brexit, the vast majority of which were hostile to “no deal”. One (from North West/Automotive RISC) called for “continued participation in and access to the European single market”. Several called for a second referendum and one (from West Midlands/Automotive RISC) called upon the union to: Campaign against any Brexit deal that would harm UK jobs and economy by the introduction of trade barriers. Campaign against any terms that would have a detrimental impact on UK workers’ rights. Campaign to ensure that the UK...

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