This Council notes:
· The UK is facing a wave of industrial action in the wake of rising prices, a cost-of-living crisis and paltry pay offers
· That in December, the Royal College of Nurses took the unprecedented step of holding a national strike on the 15th and 20th December 2022, and announced strikes on the 18th and 19th of January 2023 alongside other healthcare workers including ambulance workers who are striking in January
· The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers took part in strikes on 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th December 2022, with strikes ongoing in January 2023
· Major education unions in England are balloting their members on possible strike action over pay
· Over 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK took three days of strike action over attacks on pay, working conditions and pensions
· That under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests
· That the Conservative government has consistently failed to make adequate pay offers to workers and has repeatedly undermined the right to strike, and has undermined pay offers which could see a successful resolution to the strikes
This Council further notes:
· That Hackney staff have been balloting for industrial action including most recently Library staff voting to strike over the planned restructure to the service
· That all over the country, workers are winning improved wages through the power of collective action
· The Conservative government is undermining the right to strike by allowing employers to use agency workers to break strikes
· That decades of anti-union laws have given us some of the tightest and most undemocratic restrictions on strikes in the advanced industrial world
· The growing popularity of collective action outside of the workplace with community, tenants and renters unions, including ACORN and the London Renters Union, who are providing vital support to their members against the backdrop of more than a decade of Conservative decay
This Council believes that:
· That unions already only resort to strikes after negotiations are exhausted
· That now more than ever, many residents understand that if workers don’t fight for fair pay and conditions, they will not be able to make it through the ongoing crises
· Collective action is a necessary tool to rebalance power away from the few to the many, in the workplace and in communities
This Council resolves to:
· Promote trade, community and renters union membership to Hackney’s residents
· To work collaboratively with the unions representing the Council’s workers
· To ask Hackney residents to support striking workers in whatever way they can
· Ensure that wherever possible, agency workers for Hackney Council are not penalised for taking part in strikes, despite lacking the same legal protections as the employees they work alongside
· Support the attendance of Hackney’s two MPs, Diane Abbott and Meg Hillier, and councillors, and our Assembly Members at picket lines in solidarity with striking workers
· Write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in opposition to anti-trade union laws, including but not limited to arbitrary thresholds in strike ballots, mandatory balloting of every pay offer, additional cooling off periods, the banning of online ballots and the use of strikebreaking agency workers.
· Write to the Secretary of State for Transport in opposition to the Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which would infringe on the rights of transport workers to withdraw labour to fight for fairer pay and conditions, and oppose any future legislation for other sectors
· Write to the Secretary of State for Justice in opposition to the proposed British Bill of Rights, that threatens the right of workers to organise collective action.
Proposer: Cllr Alasair Binnie-Lubbock
Seconder: Cllr Zoë Garbett
Decision:
RESOLVED:
This Council notes:
· The UK is facing a wave of industrial action in the wake of rising prices a cost-of-living crisis and paltry pay offers
· That in December, the Royal College of Nurses took the unprecedented step of holding a national strike on the 15th and 20th December 2022, and announced strikes on the 18th and 19th of January 2023 alongside other healthcare workers including ambulance workers who are striking in January
· The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers took part in strikes on 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th December 2022, with strikes ongoing in January 2023
· Major education unions in England balloted their members and an NEU national strike took place on 1 February with up to 300,000 members across 23,400 schools.
· A ballot of 47,000 Junior Doctors who are BMA members in England has supported strike action, to take place for 72 hours between 7.00 am on Monday 13 until 7.00 am on Thursday 16 March.
· The main union for Tube drivers, ASLEF, has announced a one-day strike for Wednesday 15 March.
· Over 70,000 staff at 150 universities across the UK took three days of strike action over attacks on pay, working conditions and pensions
This Council further notes:
· In January 2023 the Government announced its Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Bill - a wide-ranging set of proposals which, taken as a package, will undermine the basic right to strike and make it harder for workers to organise effectively in trade unions.
· The proposals will also bring in new restrictions on pickets and protests during strikes. Unions will have to give the details of a lead picketer on every picket line to the police and employers - and the Government has even floated the idea of making all picketers give their details to the police. They may even be required to submit a campaign plan to the police and employers two weeks in advance - setting out what they intend to do, whether they will use a loudspeaker or carry a banner and even what strikers intend to put on social media, such as Facebook or twitter.
· The Government has also proposed new thresholds for turnout in strike ballots, plus additional thresholds for those working in "important public services".
· The Government wants to grant ministers the power to unilaterally cut so-called "facilities time" in the public sector. This is paid time-off mutually agreed between employers and unions for union reps to represent their members and negotiate with their employer.
· The Government also proposes to prohibit public sector employers assisting unions collecting their membership subscriptions through payrolls - even though this is used for a variety of other staff benefits such as cycle-to-work schemes and childcare vouchers, and even though unions often meet the costs of this.
· The Strikes (Minimum Level of Service) Bill has been rushed through parliament without proper scrutiny and does not have backing of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations’ workers’ rights watchdog.
· The human rights organisations Liberty, Amnesty International and the British Institute of Human Rights have said that the Government's proposals “would hamper people’s basic rights to protest and shift even more power from the employee to the employer".
· That under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests
· The Government refuses to allow trade unions to ballot their members electronically, which could help increase engagement, yet use electronic voting in their own party political elections
· Trade unions take industrial action for a wide range of reasons including defending wages and pensions, conditions at work and safety.
· Research by the Resolution Foundation has found that trade union membership has more than halved from 53 per cent in 1980 to 23 per cent in 2021, and to just 10 per cent among low paid workers in the private sector.
· That the government has consistently failed to make adequate pay offers to workers and has repeatedly undermined the right to strike,and has undermined pay offers which could see a successful resolution to the strikes.
· The government is undermining the right to strike by allowing employers to use agency workers during industrial action.
· That anti-union laws have given us some of the tightest and most undemocratic restrictions on strikes in the advanced industrial world
· That all over the country, workers are winning improved wages through the power of collective action which is growing in popularity outside of the workplace providing vital support to their members against the backdrop of more than a decade of decay.
· No worker ever wants to go on strike, but it is a crucial last resort for workers after negotiations are exhausted and when their employer refuses to listen to their views, or negotiate with them. The right to strike and protest are not a gift from the State, but fundamental rights fought hard for by workers in the last two centuries, which should be valued and respected in a free and democratic society.
· Without the right to strike, workers will be unable to defend their jobs or pay, stand up for decent services and achieve fairness and safety at work.
· Hackney Council maintains positive and constructive working relationships with local trade unions, and believes that the Government's proposals will undermine effective employment relations and meaningful engagement with trade unions within the London Borough of Hackney.
· Councils should be free to build positive industrial relations that work for their communities with a minimum of central government involvement.
The Council welcomes
· The administration's engagement and promotion of the Council’s trade unions, including the instigating regular meetings since 2016.
· That the administration actively promotes trade union membership at all staff events.
· That the administration unanimously passed a comprehensive Fire and Rehire Motion in January 2022, sending a clear statement to employers locally that the practice will be actively resisted in the Borough.
· That key moments like Heart Union Week and International Workers’ Memorial Day have become part of the annual calendar.
· The inclusion of trade union recognition in the Hackney's Sustainable Procurement Strategy, and signatories of Unison Ethical Care Charter.
· The consistent engagement led by the Mayor and Cllr Sem Moema in working with London Renter's Union and accepting their 2022 campaign asks.
This Council resolves to:
· To support the TUC’s campaign to protect the right to strike.
· Ensure that wherever possible, agency workers for Hackney Council are not penalised for taking part in strikes, despite lacking the same legal protections as the employees they work alongside
· Write to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy stating our opposition to the Government’s anti-trade union laws, including but not limited to arbitrary thresholds in strike ballots, mandatory balloting of every pay offer, additional cooling off periods, the banning of online ballots and the use of agency workers, and unwarranted interference in local industrial relations which risks making matters worse.
· Write to Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy, encouraging the implementation of plans as soon as possible after next General Election.
· In the event that the government's proposals become law, in so far as is lawful for the council as an employer:
o to continue to allow recognised trade unions to use subscriptions through payroll, or otherwise support trade unions' efforts to move members onto direct debit subscriptions.
o to maintain current arrangements on "facility time" for trade union reps to represent their members.
o in so far as is lawful for the council and consistent with its responsibilities to residents, to commit not to use agency workers to break strikes.
o to continue the positive relationships that the Council has developed with the unions representing its workforce.
Proposer: Cllr Alastair Binnie-Lubbock
Seconder: Cllr Zoë Garbett