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Tomorrow's Unions: From Local to Global

Thursday 14 December 2006

Speech by Hilary Benn MP to Unions 21.

It's a pleasure to hear how Unions 21 has prospered since I was closely involved.

Unions 21 has always been unique in providing a space where we can debate the future of a really important part of our society - the trade union movement.

It shouldn't need saying, but I'll say it anyway. Trade unions are not something to be avoided or something to be reluctantly compromised with. Unions are our natural partners in the fight for social justice.

They are a helping hand in the workplace. A helping hand beyond the workplace. And they are a helping hand to a Labour government.

We should never forget that trade union values are Labour values. And even though we may sometimes disagree, we fundamentally want the same thing: social justice, a better Britain and a better world. It's that simple.

We are now at a particular moment in the history of both our movements. The trade unions and the Labour Party alike face the challenge of renewal.

Why?

Because the world is changing fast. Trade, travel, technology, economic growth, climate change, globalisation - all are moulding our world into a new shape.

It isn't all easy to deal with.

Let's be honest about it: sometimes how fast things are changing can make us all feel worried. Globalisation, for all its benefits, does bring greater insecurity. At a national level. At a local level. And at a personal level.

And yet change is what unions are made for. It's the same for Labour. Change is our lifeblood.

Because at our best, we help people make the most of change. If nothing ever altered, if there were no job losses, if people didn't need to upgrade their skills to a modern economy, if our standards of health and safety weren't always improving, if other countries couldn't start to compete with our industries, then trade union and Labour politics would be less relevant. It would be a time for conservatives.

But it isn't. Because in 2006, Labour and trade unions have an unprecedented opportunity. And people are depending on us to seize this opportunity. The new parent in Leeds who needs time off to take care of their baby. The ex-car worker in Oxford who needs to retrain. The sales assistant in Devon who wants a new career. These people can look to unions and see the benefits that they can bring.

In the DfES, in my first job in Government - after 18 long years in opposition - I worked with David Blunkett on the initial ideas for the Union Learning Fund.

And I am enormously proud to see the difference that union learning reps now make every day in Britain. They now help more than 100,000 people a year to get the skills they need to get on in life and make the most of themselves.

For too long, people have been saying that trade unions are in decline. It is true that membership is lower than in the 1980s. But thanks to a strong economy, membership has stopped falling. In many unions it is growing. And there are signs that trade unions may be about to experience a resurgence.

LSE research shows that last year there were 2.8 million people in Britain not in a union or covered by collective bargaining, who said they wanted union representation or said they would be very likely to join a union if one were available. And there were 3.3 million people covered by a collective bargaining agreement who were not members of a union.

That's a lot of potential members.

And it's not hostility, or legislation, or lack or legislation that's stopping them joining. It's not being asked and persuaded to do so.

But what about Labour's prospects?

Some people say that we need to rebuild the coalition of 1997. But I think we need to look to the future, not to the past.

Because we will not win a fourth term with the coalition of 1997. We will win a fourth term with the coalition of 2010, the coalition of modern Britain.

Because Britain and the world are changing. And as this happens, so the problems change, the opportunities change and our response must change.

That doesn't mean giving up our values or principles. But it does mean that the way we achieve our aims must adapt to a new world. Because this is how we prove the cynics and the sceptics wrong: by showing it can be done.

Ten years ago, some people said that in a modern economy, the gap between rich and poor inevitably gets bigger. That's just the way of the world.

Well, inequality is now falling in modern Britain.

In just ten years, Labour and the trade unions working together have proved that rising inequality isn't inevitable; that rising poverty, mass unemployment, a boom and bust economy, rising crime, people working for £1.50 an hour aren't inevitable either.

In 2007 we need the right answers to the tough new challenges facing our country. Staying competitive in a global economy. Learning to live with one another. Dealing with behaviour that hurts others.

And we need the right answers to the tough new challenges facing the world. Climate change. The threat of terrorism. Fragile states.

But we also need to be the party of optimism. Of hope. Of aspiration. The party that understands what needs to be done.

The challenge is similar for the trade unions. You need to remain tough in the fight for justice in the workplace. But you also need to offer hope and aspiration.

What does this mean in practice?

I think we should together focus on four things: global justice, fair treatment, quality of life and shared power.

I'll start with global justice.

I was speaking at the London Labour Party conference a couple of weeks ago. And a delegate before me said "well, international development is all very worthy isn't it. But I want to debate what really matters".

I don't need to tell you that global justice is far from "worthy". For every person in Britain today, 17 live on less than a dollar a day in the rest of the world. Millions die from diseases we can prevent. And, for the first time in the history of our planet, we have the capacity to end global injustice.

Tell me that's merely "worthy". Or tell the millions of people who supported Make Poverty History or the hundreds of thousands who marched in London and Edinburgh last year. We can see that in the future, the political parties and the trade unions that succeed will be those that place global justice at their heart.

In fact, I think justice comes pretty naturally to trade unions. Just look at our history.

The first trade unions started in small villages, protecting workers from exploitation and using solidarity to improve everyone's lives.

And as transport became easier, as more unscrupulous employers had the chance to recruit workers from other towns and villages, unions had to get bigger and broader. They had to be regional.

And as companies became national, so too unions had to become national.

In the world we are now facing, a world where corporations are multinational, where migrants move across the world, where trade between countries is in billions of dollars a day, where what happens in one country impacts more quickly and more profoundly on other countries than ever before, unions need to be international.

So I'm really pleased that the new International TUC was launched in November. I think this will make a real difference.

Because even if there wasn't a moral case for action, even if unions weren't founded on a belief in our common humanity and the worth of each and every one of us, there would be a pragmatic reason to build international partnerships.

Because protecting workers rights here depends in the end on ensuring better rights for workers in the developing world.

And because helping countries develop successfully - creating new markets for our manufacturing and service exports - depends on better governance, stronger accountability and more direct representation in developing countries.

All things that trade unions and other organisations in the developing world help provide. This is why DFID recently signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with the TUC, worth more than £750,000 over four years, to help unions in Britain raise awareness about development, build links with Southern unions and help in our development work overseas. And it's why we hold a DFID / TUC forum every three months to ensure that we're working closely together.

This has been such a success that we are about to launch the new Governance and Transparency Fund. A £100 million initiative that will help build the capacity of civil society - including unions - in developing countries, to hold their governments to account.

Why do we need this? Well, a couple of months ago I met some ship breakers from India. They were hired and paid by the day to do hard dangerous work. Many of the ships they work on are full of asbestos.

I asked them about health and safety. And they told me that the safety equipment they had been given by their employers - amounted to just one pair of washing up gloves. One worker said he had bought himself some glasses to protect his eyes. Not much use against breathing asbestos in.

These workers need unions. One reason I met them was to talk about how we could help them unionise. But this is just one example of why unions in developing countries are so vital.

And we can see that unions make a real difference in developing countries.

In India, the National Alliance of Street Vendors has successfully defended the rights of its members at national, state and local levels. And in Ahmedabad, union representation has resulted in the municipality setting aside 10 million rupees to improve street vendors' lives, by building small markets, issuing licenses and demarcating specific sales areas.

Domestic workers in Bangalore have arranged crèche facilities for themselves; waste-pickers in Pune helped rag picker children into more dignified jobs; tribal women in Orissa sough the right to collect forest produce as well as the right to land.

In Nigeria, the national Labour Congress, working with DFID and TUCAid is building the capacity of trade unions to reflect the concerns of women workers, improving working conditions for women through more equal pay, non-discrimination and better maternity provision.

Global justice should be one priority. A second should be a renewed focus on fair treatment. What do I mean by this?

It's about how we are treated at work, by public services and in our communities. It's about dignity and respect. Because in the end, we don't just care about how much we are paid or what we end up with - we care about how we are treated.

And I think that a concern for fair treatment is becoming more and more important to people in Britain today.

In my constituency, in the local elections this year, the BNP got a lot of votes. It would be easy to dismiss this as racism. But I think that would be a profound misunderstanding of what is happening.

I think people are voting for the BNP because they feel - whatever the truth of the matter - that the system treats them unfairly. Or that they believe that someone else is getting something else that they are not.

That's not racism. It's a much more profound anxiety. It's about a very British concern for fair play.

So what does putting fair treatment at the heart of our thinking mean in practice? For Government, it must mean making sure that policy is transparent, fair and clear. That people can see how decisions are made. The points-based migration system we are introducing is a really good example of this.

So is the expansion of 'restorative justice' in the criminal justice system. This is about offenders making amends directly to the people or organisations they have harmed. It's about putting victims' needs at the centre of the criminal justice system and finding positive solutions to crime by encouraging offenders to face up to their actions. Getting offenders to remove graffiti and repair property they've damaged. Bringing shoplifters face to face with store managers to hear how shop theft affects others.

Another example of fair treatment is our recent pension reform, which gives people, especially women, a fair reward for caring work.

For unions, the growing importance of fair treatment is an enormous opportunity. Because in the end, fair treatment is what unions are all about.

The T&G's consistent campaigning against inequality - such as the current living wage campaign, Amicus' fighting for British manufacturing, the tireless work of USDAW, UCATT, UNISON, the GMB and Community - we can see clearly the difference this makes to people in Britain in so many ways.

To take just one example: LSE research shows that if there were no unions, the race pay gap would be 1.4 per cent bigger and the gender pay gap 2.6 per cent wider. In fact, unions make more difference to reducing the gender pay gap than even the minimum wage.

The challenge is to get out there and make it real for people. Because when people come to my surgery in Leeds with problems with their employer, or looking for an opportunity to get new training, and I ask them whether they have ever thought of joining a union, many look at me blankly.

I know that unions are, for the most part, doing a great job of recruiting. But let's all talk about the benefits unions can bring more often, in more practical ways, and with more pride.

I think a third shift in people's expectations and aspirations has to do with quality of life. In 1997, the really big political challenges were about the economy, unemployment, poverty, crime and underinvestment in public services.

In 2006, these issues still matter. But people increasingly look to government for other things too.

Work/life balance, the state of the local environment in our neighbourhoods and communities, the values we share or the way that we raise our children, how content or otherwise we are with our lives are all much more important than they were even five years ago.

You don't need me to tell you about the opportunity this provides for trade unions. In fighting for more flexible working, for better terms and conditions. You know that unions improve the quality of work and cut workplace accidents - such as bone fractures, burns, amputations or any injury resulting in immediate hospitalisation - by a quarter. Workplaces with unions are more likely to have equal opportunity and family friendly policies.

And unions are beginning to make a real difference in communities too - working with civil society and business to improve local facilities and press for change.

And this leads me to my final challenge: shared power and democratic renewal.

I think that in the future it will be even more important to share power with people. In the Labour Party, in society, and in the country. Because power is something people lend politicians, it's not something politicians own.

Some people say that British people are turning away from politics. It is true that fewer vote in elections. But it's not that simple. What is really going on is that the way people want to participate in politics is changing.

People want a more direct say. They want more power. And we can see that when people feel that they can really make a difference, they get more involved than ever.

We all have to respond to these shifts. And this means finding new ways to share power directly with people. Because that's how to close the gap between politics and people's everyday lives. For politicians like me it's about listening more. Trying harder to communicate and explain decisions. That's why I set up the DFID / TUC forum, so I can hear the voice of unions in Government. That's why my constituency - and spending time listening to people - matters so much. That's why I spent so much time in the Big Conversation last year.

For trade unions, people's growing desire for shared power is another profound opportunity. Because that's what trade unions do: they represent views directly and, through solidarity, get things done - at the local level, the national level and, increasingly, the international level too. Trade unions are about practical politics in everyday life.

And this is what I want to finish on. The political role of trade unions over the next decade.

If I am right about the way that British people's expectations and aspirations are changing, and the changing problems facing the country, in the future Labour's success in government will depend more on a constructive partnership with trade unions.

I have always supported the link between the Labour Party and the trade unions and will continue to do so.

Millions of working people give money to help make Britain a better place through their trade union. Each affiliated union member contributes around eight pence each week to help Labour take the fight for social justice into the world. That is something we should be proud of.

The Tories are now committed to scrapping the link between the Labour Party and the trade unions, by legislation, regardless of the findings of the Hayden Philips inquiry. Such an assault on a Party's membership structures would be an outrage. I will continue to support Labour's historic link with the unions.

Mary Bousted and Hilary Benn listen to contributions

But let's be really honest about this too: the trade unions' success depends a lot on Labour's success in government. And yet there are some in the movement who aren't as positive as they might be about the gains, and complain about things we haven't done.

And there are others who at the moment are looking at the recent "work choices" reforms in Australia, looking at the connections between the government there and David Cameron here, and making links in their heads. I know that many of you saw the 270,000 people who took part in protests in November, organised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

Under "work choices", if employers have less than 100 people, unfair dismissal law or job security law simply doesn't apply. Minimum wages are set by a body concerned only with economic economy is competitive - not with balancing the dual needs of a strong economy and wage fairness. Employers have the unilateral right to refuse to bargain collectively with workers and unions, even if that is what a majority of employees in a workplace want. And workers and unions are restricted from using collective bargaining to protect employees from unfair dismissal, casualisation of jobs or the use of contractors.

Cameron may be trying to change the face of the Tory party. But I know a lot of you are looking at Tory pressure groups like the Campaign for Enterprise and thinking that the Tories aren't going to change.

Here's what Alan Duncan MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Trade, Industry and Energy, said about the Campaign for Enterprise at its launch: "The Campaign for Enterprise is an exciting initiative that promises to provide real insight into the needs of business people across the United Kingdom. I know that the Campaign will be challenging us to develop the kind of policies which create a benign business environment that allows entrepreneurship to flourish."

And here's what the Campaign for Enterprise, for those of you who haven't read its manifesto, is currently recommending. They want the Tories to - and I quote: "Repeal Statutory Dismissal and Grievance Procedures in their entirety … Increase the qualifying period for Unfair Dismissal from one year to two years … Reduce the maximum compensatory award from £55,000 to £25,000 … [and] End compulsory Trade Union recognition".

They even go so far as to say (and again I quote): "Discrimination is not a dirty word".

For me, discrimination is a dirty word. And employment rights are fundamental to a fair society.

So let's work together to ensure that Britain remains on the progressive path. Labour owes the unions a huge debt of gratitude. Without your innovative campaigning and your ideas, your ability to mobilise public support behind progressive values, your links with working people in every region, we would not have been able to make the changes to this country that we have.

We would not have a minimum wage. Inequality would not be falling. There would not be 800,000 fewer children in poverty. Yes, trade unions need to be responsible political forces. But you have overwhelmingly demonstrated your capacity to do this over the past ten years.

Yes, trade unions need to look beyond the workplace to embrace new opportunities. The best unions are already doing this and forums like Unions 21 are a really important way pooling ideas and experiences.

And yes, the Government needs to encourage trade unions as true social partners. I recognise we have more to on the current Warwick agreement. And I'm looking forward to a closer partnership with the unions in future.

For me the crucial thing about Warwick was that it put unions at the heart of our positive vision of the future of the country - not because it improved internal Party relations or the unions' structural link with the Labour Party, but because trade unions are crucial to meeting the challenges of improving skills, improving work-life balance, reforming our public services and ensuring our pensions system is fair and fit for the 21st century.

I believe Warwick is very much a template for our relations in the future: Warwick proved that unions matter to the Labour Party - yes because of our history and our structures, but much more because the trade union movement is key to our country meeting the challenges of the future.

Because as we look to the future, as we seize the new opportunities this changing world is providing, we are going to need the union movement as much as we have ever done, and we're going to need unions and government to work harder and more constructively together than ever before.

That's, after all, what we're about.

I'm looking forward to it.

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