Since we began publishing in September 2016, The Clarion has consistently raised the issue of the anti-trade union laws, and since February 2018 we have been central to the growing campaign in the trade union movement and Labour Party to “Free Our Unions”.
The campaign began with the Free Our Unions statement passed by the 2018 AGM of Lambeth local government Unison, which has since been signed by over fifty other union branches and organisations.
At their February 2019 AGM Lambeth Unison reaffirmed their support for the campaign. This is what they said. (They also voted to submit a motion on these issues to Unison conference – more on that soon.)
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“Last year we agreed a statement calling for repeal of all anti-trade union laws, and their replacement with positive rights for workers and unions, including a strong and unrestricted right to strike. We welcome the fact that this has led to wider campaigning, under the banner “Free Our Unions”, in which Lambeth Unison has participated.
“This is a crucial issue. Even with the low level of strikes, workers’ struggles are continually undermined by these laws – as we have seen in Lambeth in the last year too. Seriously fighting the anti-union laws and campaigning to scrap them is essential to reviving the trade union movement.
“We restate our determination to win repeal of all anti-union laws. We call on Unison as a whole to fight for this, including inside the Labour Party. We call on Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership to make a clear public commitment and campaign actively and vocally. We will continue to cooperate with other union branches, local Labour Parties and the left-wing Labour magazine The Clarion, which has been central to generating the campaign.”
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