THE TUC Congress in Brighton on Monday passed motions calling for the public ownership of transport services, action on the housing crisis and to back a campaign for youth in the fast food industry.
It also backed an emergency motion calling for the release of jailed trade unionists in Colombia. Motion 36 Transport, was moved by RMT General Secretary Mick Cash. He said: ‘The Tories, who privatised our industry, are prepared to risk lives again.
‘They want to break up and privatise Network Rail with the subsequent threat to safety. If they do that we will ballot our members and we will see the biggest rail strike for years.’
He added: ‘The EU also want to break up our rail services. And we need to campaign for buses as well, which are facing wave upon wave of cuts. We need bus, ferries, rail services, in public ownership, all our public services in public ownership.’
Seconding the motion Mohammad Taj, Unite, said: ‘I wish to speak in defence of buses. Buses are the lifeline of our community. 2,000 bus routes have been cut, we need public ownership and accountability. We need an integrated network properly regulated for the benefit of passengers and not profits.’
A separate motion, 37 Public Ownership and the Breakup of Network Rail, was moved by TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortez. He said: ‘Breaking up Network Rail will be a disaster waiting to happen. If it does we will be standing shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in RMT. Potters Bar never again,’ he declared. ‘I welcome Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge to renationalise the railways. Every opinion poll shows people want the railways back in public ownership.’
Congress went on to support Motion 81 Fast Food Rights/Hungry for Justice Campaigns. The motion stated: ‘The exploitation of young people working in fast food outlets will continue unless we can raise the public profile and the best conduit for that is a committed TUC and trade union movement.
The motion was moved by Bakers, Food and Allied Trade Union General Secretary Ronnie Draper.
He began: ‘I’d like to start by thanking Unite, Unison, PCS and GMB members for assisting us in making this campaign spread nationally.’
He added: ‘The aims of the campaign are end zero hours and a £10 per hour minimum wage, both TUC policy. We seek an end to youth rates and we want union recognition. The fast food industry is amongst the largest employers of young people globally.
‘McDonald’s are the second biggest employer in the world and number one in the exploitation of young people,’ he alleged. It is a company that counts profits in billions of pounds.’ He went on to allege: ‘They export their low pay model across the world which forces others in the same trading category to cut pay rates, decimate working conditions in a never-ending race to the bottom.’
He continued: ‘In the UK McDonald’s employ 97,000 mainly young people, mainly under the age of 22 and the average pay is £5 an hour. Of course to get an average there will be many paid far less.’ He went on to condemn the Tory attack on youth pay. He said: ‘When Osborne’s scam of the minimum wage comes in the differential between an over-25 worker and an apprentice is potentially £3.90 per hour and all on a zero-hours contract.
‘This is positive discrimination against young people and in the absence of a government that gives a damn it is up to us in the trade union movement to bring justice.’ He added: ‘I salute the victory earned by Unite over the disgraceful keeping of tips by Pizza Express. That is a victory for fairness. We seek to expand on these victories. This is the start not the pinnacle.’
He continued: ‘Comrades, this is a crusade for justice for young people. We are working with unions globally to bring success. The $15 Now campaign has brought success across New York and Seattle.
‘Joe Biden is advocating $15 for all fast-food workers and zero hours contracts have ended in New Zealand.’
He concluded: ‘The support and endorsement of the TUC can have an extremely positive effect on this campaign. The practical support of individual trade unionists can end the misery of thousands of young people.’
Seconding the motion, Tim Roache, of the GMB, said: ‘The exploitation of young people working in fast food outlets epitomises everything that is bad about our unequal society and uncaring government.’ He continued: ‘Many young people find themselves working in fast food outlets where they are abused, bullied and harassed and Congress we,’ he stressed, ‘have a duty to organise and help them.’
He alleged: ‘It’s a scandal that employers like McDonald’s, Pizza Express and KFC pay less than £4 an hour, despite making profits in their billions.’ He concluded: ‘Employers who can pay a living wage must be made to do so and those who say they can’t should be means-tested. It is an outrage that employers legally pay an hourly rate that means workers have to claim top-up benefits just to live, to eat and to survive.’ He concluded: ‘Like everything else secured for workers, we have to campaign and to fight and to organise.’
After an impassioned debate that highlighted zero hours contracts, short-term contracts and agency working, delegates went on to pass Composite motion 15 Casualisation. The motion ‘calls on the general council to produce research on the scale of insecure employment in all sectors and to organise a unified Westminster parliamentary lobby against casualisation including zero hours contracts during 2015/16.’
Later in the afternoon session delegates passed Composite Motion 2 the Housing Crisis, where they condemned the extension of the right to buy and extortionate private landlords. The motion calls for the building of over one million new homes over five years, more social housing available at a living rent and rent controls in the private rented sector.
At the end of the afternoon delegates also passed Emergency Motion 1 Colombia, which condemns attacks on human rights in that country and calls for the release of Colombian academic Miguel Beltrain, Huber Ballesteros and all Colombia’s political prisoners.
The motion calls on the general council to support the peace process in Colombia and the Justice for Colombia Peace Campaign. Moving the motion, Aslef General Secretary Mick Whelan said: ‘How can peace in Colombia be achieved when the right to protest is denied?’
He added: ‘69 activists were killed in the first half of 2015 according to the UN.’ He alleged: ‘Big business deals are behind these human rights attacks. Trade unionists are killed and disappear.’
