You don't get me I'm part of the union

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) annual conference began in Liverpool today with a rousing address by the new General Secretary, Paul Nowak, himself a proud Scouser (Liverpudlian).

Mr Nowak spoke about also being a proud grandson of immigrants and said "the real enemies of the working class don’t arrive in a small boat, they fly in by private jet.” He spoke about gross pay inequality, burgeoning food banks, growing hospital waiting lists and the government's disturbing anti-strike legislation and anti-migrant rhetoric. He reiterated that nothing in the UK seems to work anymore - or not for ordinary working people at least.

He spoke about the achievements of unionism in promoting better working conditions, pay and social provisions and went on to highlight the pressing need for more union recruitment. He said that he himself could not deliver this, it was the job of individual unions to increase their membership, but he pledged that the TUC would support them by recruiting and training 500 Black union reps every year to increase diversity.

Mr Nowak is only nine months into his role as General Secretary and his passion for, and commitment to, the cause of unionism is clear, as is his desire for a more just and equitable society. It will be interesting to see, however, how he engages with the suave and emolient London-based Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer. Hopefully the relationship between a son of toil and a lawyer and knight of the realm will prove positive. 

After all, both men come from working class families so they share similar life stories even though their career paths are divergent. For the good of the country, they need to build a working partnership of mutual trust and co-operation. Their common cause.of getting rid of the Tory government should be their primary focus for now. 

Resolving the inevitable strains which arise between governments of any stripe and organised labour will have to take a back seat until the Labour Party is actually in government. The crucial thing is to get them elected to get rid of the Tories. As a retired member of UNISON union, I hope the two leaders will get their act together.

A house divided cannot stand.




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