The Hackney Central branch of Hackney South and Shoreditch Constituency Labour Party has passed the below motion, calling for coordinated opposition to proposed new anti-union laws.
In particular, it situates the Labour Party’s historical foundation in a struggle against anti-union laws. It also it calls on Labour to refuse to collude with the Tories’ restrictions on strikes by, if the law passes, setting minimum service requirements to nil wherever a Labour-controlled authority is a transport industry employer.
Could your Labour branch or CLP pass a similar motion?
- For the Free Our Unions campaign’s new statement on resisting the anti-union laws, click here.
- For a model motion for trade union branches, see the bottom of this article.
We note that:
1. the new Conservative government plans to further restrict workers’ and trade union rights, with a new law requiring a minimum service to be run during transport strikes.
2. this law will add to the existing raft of laws that shackle effective trade union action
3. the Free Our Unions campaign is supported by RMT and other unions and has been campaigning actively for the repeal of anti-union laws
We recognise that the Labour Party was formed as an independent political party in response to anti-union laws (the Taff Vale judgment), and has a responsibility to defend the human right to withdraw labour.
We call on the Labour Party to:
1. oppose the new law as vigorously as possible, both in Parliament and in the country
2. in the event of it becoming law, continue to campaign against it, demanding its repeal
3. where it is a transport employer (eg. in TfL), commit to setting the minimum service level during strikes at nil
We resolve to
1. work with local trade unions (especially transport unions) to hold a public meeting in Hackney opposing the new law and all anti-union laws
2. invite a speaker from the Free Our Unions campaign to a future meeting
3. secure a commitment from our MP to oppose the new law