- Conference
- 2022 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 22 February 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the pivotal leadership role that UNISON and its then general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe played in establishing the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Conference further notes that the idea emerged from the real experience of low paid public service workers who continued to lose out during the economic turmoil of the 1970s and that it took many years of campaigning to win the argument for the minimum wage within the wider trade union and labour movement.
Conference also notes that this ultimately paid off, with UNISON then closely involved in discussions with government around the legislation that brought the Low Pay Commission (LPC) and NMW to life in 1999. The union was represented among the first group of commissioners and, since the time of its introduction, UNISON has continued to engage fully in the annual LPC consultation process whilst in parallel also campaigning for low paid members to receive the quite distinct and voluntary (and higher) Living Wage.
Conference notes that the world has come a come a long way since 1999. The idea of a legally enforceable minimum has now achieved consensus, with the Tories introducing the National Living Wage (NLW) and then setting a target of achieving an adult rate of 2/3 median by April 2024. This is a significant figure, not least because anyone earning below 2/3 of median is classified as low paid. Conference notes that this is also close to Rodney Bickerstaffe’s original goal of achieving a minimum wage of 2/3 male median.
However, conference is only too aware that whilst the battle for the NMW may have been won in some respects, there is still work to be done to address the hardships experienced by today’s low paid public service workers. And just as UNISON led the calls for and succeeded in winning the original NMW, so the union should now lead the campaign for what comes next.
As analysis of recent court cases by the Institute of Employment Rights has shown, there is a clear need for both interim measures and longer-term reforms to make the minimum wage system work better for low paid workers. Initial measures should address problems around worker status (bogus self-employment), calculable work periods (what good is a higher hourly rate if you can’t get the hours – or if you are not being paid for all your time) and lack of enforcement. For the longer term the case is made for sector rates to be negotiated in hard to organise parts of the economy.
Conference calls for the National Executive Council to:
1)Carry out research into the strengths and weaknesses of the current NMW/NLW, including it’s rate, the government’s target, the operation of the LPC and it’s overall effectiveness;
2)Develop policy proposals to improve how the NMW/NLW delivers for low paid workers today;
3)Campaign with like minded unions and other campaign groups for change.