TUC BACKS FREEDOM ACT

RMTnews :: october 2005 8 T he Trade Union Congress meeting in Brighton unanimously backed calls for an end to Tory anti-union laws and for a new raft of rights enshrined in a Trade Union Freedom Bill. RMT general secretary Bob Crow told delegates that eight years of new Labour government had failed to bring Britain’s labour laws back in line with international law and the movement had no choice but to start fighting seriously for trade union freedom. Bob was seconding a composite motion moved by the T&G to replace repressive Thatcherite anti-union laws, which were recently highlighted by the sacking of 700 Gate Gourmet workers. “Working people in Britain have to jump through legal hoops to take industrial action at all, are barred from taking solidarity action, and remain prey to employers seeking damages from unions that dare to stand up to them. “The time has come to mobilise the trade union movement to enshrine basic trade-union rights into the law,” Bob said to applause. He added that solidarity action was the very principle the labour movement was founded upon. “Basics like the right to strike and take solidarity action, the right to be accompanied by a trade union rep, the removal of restrictive balloting and industrial-action notice procedures, and the establishment of sectoral forums to establish minimum terms and conditions. “The Trade Union Freedom Bill gives us an opportunity to deal a massive blow to repressive labour laws and start hauling Britain back into line with international law,” Bob said. CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER Delegates backed an emergency motion from RMT demanding tough new laws on corporate manslaughter following the failure of the legal system to punish rail privateers responsible for the 2000 Hatfield train crash. Bob Crow told delegates that the need for an effective corporate manslaughter law has never been clearer. “Nearly five years after the Hatfield tragedy we are supposed to accept that while safety rules were broken, nobody was to blame,” he said. Bob recalled that at the time of Hatfield, Railtrack, a private company, had two contractors on that stretch of line – Balfour Beatty was responsible for maintenance and Jarvis was responsible for renewal. He said that privateers had sought to blame each other for the disaster that killed four passengers. “It was privatisation that created the conditions for Hatfield, yet the government is pressing ahead with its plan to re-privatise of South Eastern Trains. “We need a law that holds to account bosses who are responsible for avoidable deaths. “It’s easy to identify bosses when they’re handed hundreds of thousands of pounds in bonuses and they sack drivers for going through red lights, but they can’t be found when people are killed due to their neglect,” he said. NO CALMAC SELL-OFF Speaking in support of a UNISON motion in defence of public services and against the EU services directive, RMT president Tony Donaghey highlighted the enforced privatisation of Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services in Scotland. He reported that the Scottish Executive is insisting that these services go out to tender under the EU Directive, despite opposition from the Scottish Parliament, the STUC and the people of the Western Isles. “A recent report from Glasgow University states categorically that this sell-off would be far more costly than the existing method of ownership and services would be broken up. “Even if TUPE were to apply, pensions would not be guaranteed and safety regulations would be split,” he warned to applause. BURY THE EU CONSTITUTION TUC delegates overwhelmingly backed RMT calls to reject the "elitist, militarist, corporate and anti-democratic" EU Constitution. TUC Congress backed an end to the neo-liberal policies and enforced privatisation promoted by the European Commission, demanding instead national democracy, strong workers' and union rights and international solidarity. TUC BACKS TRADE UNION FREEDOM ACT Janine Booth Tony Do0naghey Bob Crow