If Brown needs a vision he needs to ignore Blair's warmongering and listen to the labour movement
Today was an eventful day in and around Parliament.
In Parliament, two private members' bills (the Temporary and Agency Workers Bill by Paul Farrelly MP and my Trade Union Rights and Freedoms Bill) were blocked by the Government. They are supported by every major trade union in the UK and by over 100 backbench Labour MPs. Still, the Government refuses to act. I am calling for the Government to bring forward legislation on both bills as part of the Queen's Speech.
Last night I spoke at a rally attended by over 500 people in the House of Commons to support the campaign for a Trade Union Freedom Bill where there was a real passion from the platform and the audience.
If the Government is looking for a vision, this would be a good start. If we are to reverse the inequality in our society, we need to empower people to fight for better pay, pensions and terms and conditions. I supported the open letter sent today to Gordon Brown calling for legislation to give agency workers equal treatment. The letter was signed by ten general secretaries and numerous Labour MPs.
Meanwhile outside Parliament, we witnessed the peace camp in Parliament Square again being harassed for peacefully protesting against the war and being the conscience of the building opposite. It's time the Mayor of London, Westminster Council, the Metropolitan Police and this Government started respecting the right to peacefully protest.
On the day when our ex-Prime Minister is fanning the flames of war with Iran (in a speech to a $1000 plate dinner in New York), I hope Gordon Brown has learned from the mistakes of his predecessor and it is still Government policy that an attack on Iran would be "inconceivable", as Jack Straw said earlier in the year.
Having unleashed bloodshed and mayhem in Iraq, a period of quiet reflection would be a more appropriate and welcome response from our ex-Leader.
In Parliament, two private members' bills (the Temporary and Agency Workers Bill by Paul Farrelly MP and my Trade Union Rights and Freedoms Bill) were blocked by the Government. They are supported by every major trade union in the UK and by over 100 backbench Labour MPs. Still, the Government refuses to act. I am calling for the Government to bring forward legislation on both bills as part of the Queen's Speech.
Last night I spoke at a rally attended by over 500 people in the House of Commons to support the campaign for a Trade Union Freedom Bill where there was a real passion from the platform and the audience.
If the Government is looking for a vision, this would be a good start. If we are to reverse the inequality in our society, we need to empower people to fight for better pay, pensions and terms and conditions. I supported the open letter sent today to Gordon Brown calling for legislation to give agency workers equal treatment. The letter was signed by ten general secretaries and numerous Labour MPs.
Meanwhile outside Parliament, we witnessed the peace camp in Parliament Square again being harassed for peacefully protesting against the war and being the conscience of the building opposite. It's time the Mayor of London, Westminster Council, the Metropolitan Police and this Government started respecting the right to peacefully protest.
On the day when our ex-Prime Minister is fanning the flames of war with Iran (in a speech to a $1000 plate dinner in New York), I hope Gordon Brown has learned from the mistakes of his predecessor and it is still Government policy that an attack on Iran would be "inconceivable", as Jack Straw said earlier in the year.
Having unleashed bloodshed and mayhem in Iraq, a period of quiet reflection would be a more appropriate and welcome response from our ex-Leader.
posted by John at 12:46 PM
11 Comments:
This is absolutely outrageous but absolutely what I expected.
It's utterly shameful that a Labour Government should not support the Trade Union Rights and Freedom Bill.So much work, time and effort by the trade unions, MPs and campaigners. But it won't be wasted.We just need to keep coming back over and over again until we win on both Bills.500 people at a rally is a great turn-out - so the fight continues.....
"Brown backs Blair for EU president"...
http://tinyurl.com/3xrhhh
"The letter was signed by ten general secretaries and numerous Labour MPs."...
But how many of them meant it?. All show with most of them I fear, well always has been in the past. Selling out their members is what most of them are very good at,as we ALL know to our cost. The Lords awaits.
Oh and some are VERY good at doing this as well, besides managing big fat juicy offshore bank accounts...
"MPs will have an additional four days of holiday in 2008 compared to this year, it has been announced."
"They will take 91 days - or 18 working weeks - off, Harriet Harman, the leader of the Commons, has confirmed."
http://tinyurl.com/3xjz8y
It is, sadly, just as you said at the rally at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday, that both Bills would in all probability not get through. So no surprises there. But it's unlikely that however much effort is going to go into this bill and you are resolved to keep going back which is great, that neither it nor the Agency Workers Bill will ever get through this parliament. It was interesting to note the jeers that Tony Woodley got when he called on trade-unionists to back New Labour as the only party that can act on our behalf! This isn't a party nor a Parliament that can ever act for the people, we need a new way of doing things, your manifesto points in that new direction and that gives us some hope, Gordon and the rest of his outfit do not!
Regards,
Fiona Harrington
Hi, I was in parliament to hear you speach (and the others there) and it was fantastic! if we carry on pushing we will get there both on the freedom of trade unions act and on re-claiming Labour! "keep the faith!"
I think Britain has also been told by the UN to stop sending asylumn seekers back to Iraq hasn't it?; it's a no-brainer that we shouldn't be sending people back there at present and it worries me that Brown is prepared to flout international law like this - it can't be good for Britain in the long run as well as for the poor people concerned.
Looks like we need a new workers' party...
Treborc.
I well I can also remember the bad times when Unions tried to rule the companies, I was a hard working bloke trying to keep my family with low wages and even worse dam Union.
Brothers the company has changed the loo paper to cheaper stuff, we went into the toilets it was the same paper for the past ten years, but of course England was playing Germany. The company has said it would put the game over the radio for all to hear, we the workers said fine, a strike was called a show of hands and we were out, I swear to god we voted no, but sadly we were out.
Then we went out on strike because the company refused to pay the Unions reps for the three days off, I did not get paid but heck the Unions reps had to have full pay.
I left the company after going on strike sixteen times in one year.
The Union reps during the 1960 1970 use to have offices and meetings and we wait thinking oh god not again.
Something had to be done, yes I know many Unions did not do this, but look at Scargil no ballot your on strike brothers.
The fact is the Unions do have a part to play but it has to be through the work force I hate for those days to come back, I left the company involved with the toilet paper and eighteen months so did the company 5,000 jobs gone.
I mean in my life time I've been on strike so many times during those years and you thought to your self what the hells going on, we were still not earning a good wage, yet we would strike for stupidity.
You have no idea what was in these Bills to do with the Unions. The Bills were about giving protection to those involved in strikes, from dismissal, simplifying regulations related to unions and how and when they can strike, and giving equal rights to temporary workers as already exist for permanent workers, with respect to pay, sick leave and overtime.
So instead of trying to argue against these points, you construct a second argument a Strawman Argument, based on your personal experiences in the Union, about too much strikes with seemingly little purpose. And you try to pretend that proving or disproving this second argument has anything with proving or disproving the first argument. Which is a complete fallacy.
I think back to 1997 when i was 17 and Labour were voted in. The majority in society were so hopeful of a change - Labour rose to power on that expectation and have followed a similar line as what went before - lip service to big business. That is one reason why i joined the LRC and support John's aims to empower more (especially young) people and enable the power process to represent Labour members and society as a whole. Looking forward to the LRC conference in London and i hope to meet like minded people there!
As for the unions, well, they are far from perfect; however, at present there is little alternative and we still need the process that allows the workers, the low paid, in society to have representation. I dread to think of what working life would be like if employers were given unrestricted access to do as they please with their employees!
Thanks
Jon
Lets compare the so called abuses that Unions were meant to get up to in the 70s with the abuses employers get up to now.
Whole swaythes of employers are making good use of the Tory anti union laws to relocate abroad and throw thousands of workers out into poverty. It cant in anyway be argued that this is the unions fault yet it is happening. Compared to Europe , being an employer in the UK is an easy life. You can almost sack at will and the tax payer will pick up the tab.
People now try and put the fear of a return to so called 'trade union abuses' of the 70s, but the reality is the present day abuses of employers such as the management at the now defunct Rover or the management at Gate Gourmet.
A repeal of the anti trade union laws , which were brought in by the Thatcher government would return dignity to employees who face a future of job uncertainty, long hours, low pay and unreasonable managers.It would give unions a level playing field to negotiate for better conditions for their members.
Ian
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