All of the TUC’s Maddest Motions
Motions are in for the Trades Union Congress’ annual meeting next month in Brighton. Delegates’ votes on them will decide the political and lobbying direction the TUC will take. Unions bosses have renewed energy now Labour is in government and are gunning for more pay rises from the permissive government. More strikes are already on the way…
Apart from pushing for bumper pay deals, union chiefs have crafted a list of some truly insane and/or idiotic motions. Guido gives you some of the worst below:
- The Educational Institute of Scotland wants repeals of the 2016 Trade Union Act and 2023 Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, outlaws on zero-hour contracts, and devolution of “employment law fully to the devolved administrations.” More fun for the SNP and Welsh Labour…
- The Artists’ Union England wants a “prohibition of the use of AI in workplaces without explicit collective agreement” and “legislation to protect workers against the use of AI in workplaces.” UNITE joins in by calling for a bill that “ensures trade unions have the right to be consulted and to negotiate on the use of AI.” Luddites gonna luddite…
- The University College Union wants the TUC to lobby for “a decolonised curriculum in the prison education system.” That’ll fix the prisons…
- UNISON demands that the TUC raises “awareness of Reform’s policies for the workplace and society” and provides “training courses, resources and support for unions in tackling the politics of far right.” The cherry on the cake is a commitment to “organising and recruiting migrant workers.” Do they think staff need therapy to deal with Nigel?
- The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy wants to tackle the gender pay gap by challenging “the status quo of senior leadership positions in public services being ‘full-time’ roles.” Got to break down that “taboo of working at senior levels on a part-time basis”…
- The Royal College of Midwives demand a “campaign for mandatory neurodiversity awareness training for all NHS staff as part of their EDI mandatory training.” Just what the NHS needs to get productive again…
- The TUC Black Workers Conference wants “legislation to make ethnicity pay gap reporting mandatory and for this to become a standard practice in employers’ policies and procedures.” More paper-pushing woke drudgery…
- The FDA looks to seize on Partygate and the “betting scandal” by introducing a “fully independent body which will have the authority to independently investigate and determine outcomes of breaches of the ministerial code, free from political interference.” Maybe Labour can fill that with its cronies too?
- The British Dietetic Association wants “a statutory right to accessible, affordable and nutritious food.” How’s that going to work?
- The Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union demands the UK sets a “national maximum working temperature and put in place a heat wave furlough scheme.” Which means they’ll do a “Heat Strike” this summer “when temperatures go above 36 degrees.” If you can’t take the heat, get out of the bakery…
- Accord wants to raise capital gains tax to income tax levels and apply national insurance to investment income, as well as ending “special treatment” of AIM shares. ‘Poof’ goes Labour’s promised “growth”…
- The Fire Brigade Union is pushing for a motion to “repeal of all anti-union laws and for positive legal rights for trade unions.” Goodbye to the Thatcher revolution…
Union bosses are no doubt itching to unveil some of their even kookier ideas once they secure more concessions from Labour over the coming months. “Get round the table” because “the adults are back in the room”…
