Delegates backs bargaining for jobs and against poverty

“Zero hours contracts – that’s a contradiction in terms. How can you have a contract of nothing?”

That was a question posed by Clare Williams from the Northern Region this morning, as she opened a debate on bargaining through austerity on the second day of UNISON’s national delegate conference.

Observing that “the age of austerity continues at a pace,” with “pernicious attacks on ordinary people,” she told delegates that, for the first time in it’s history, Save the Children has had to begin work in the UK, while she pointed out that the increase in in-work poverty is a direct result of efforts to drive down wages in order to raise profits.

We need “a bargaining agenda that gets us through austerity. Let’s create jobs and life people out of poverty,” she said, and called on delegates to mobilise for September’s demonstration against the government in Manchester.

Dave Ellis from Kirkless made a rousing speech supporting that call for mobilisation.

Susan Kennedy from Aberdeenshire told how her branch face the challenge of planned redundancies. And wage cuts, but fought back to get the plans analysed and the message out to the community.

“We have successfully negotiated a living wage for all our employees, including modern apprenticeships,” she said, adding that “hard work and persistence” had paid off.

Josie Bird from the national executive, said that austerity has brought nothing but misery – and hasn’t even done what the government claim it would.

“It’s all pain and no gain.”

And she warned that “there are suggestions that the Tories may even target the minimum wage next.”

Gloria Hanson from London said that she was “sick and fed up of hearing about austerity,” noting that there was no austerity for those at the top.

“The working class, who did nothing to create the deficit, is being made to pay – time and time again.”

Conference called on the NEC to:

  • campaign for an end to low pay in the public sector;
  • build the union’s campaign for a living wage;
  • campaign against  ncreasing trends toward the flexible labour market;
  • campaign against regional pay;
  • link changes in employment trends to UNISON’s alternative economic strategy for growth and jobs.