Unite at Congress 2011: tough action needed to defend
rights and the economy
8 September 2011
The country's biggest union, Unite, will be pushing for
emergency action on the economy and the defence
of workers' rights at this year's Trades Union Congress in London (beginning
Monday, September 12th).
Chief among the union's calls will be a push for a mass investment
in infrastructure projects to tackle unemployment and get people
back to work.
The union will also warn the government against any attempt
to abandon the pledge to end the exploitation of the one million or so
agency workers in the UK by 2012.
Speaking ahead of Congress, Unite general secretary Len
McCluskey said: "Not content with knee-capping the economy,
the coalition is also
mounting a sinister assault on workers' rights. It is high
time that a UK government supported workers over big
business, because
failure to do so has brought this country
nothing but harm.
"Equally, we need to stop the vandalism of our economy.
This country did not vote for joblessness, nor for the destruction
of our services. 'No' to ideological cuts
and 'Yes ' to a fairer, better
Britain will be the message government must
heed."
Unite will also be taking a lead role in the debates on Bombardier,
where it will be pressing for the government to reverse its
decision to give preferential bidder status to Seimens, thus putting some 10,000 UK jobs
at risk, and for a halt to the attacks on pensions which have left
some 14 million workers without any pension cover.
On the Congress Fringe, Unite has three events:
- Defending access to Justice, Monday, September
12th - with Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty and Mark Lewis,
the solicitor who defended Milly Dowler's family as it was revealed
their phones had been hacked into by News International
reporters.
- Reconnecting Britain, Tuesday, September 13th
- where Len McCluskey, Unite general secretary, will debate with
Tom Watson MP, Owen Jones (author of Chavs) and Kingsley
Abrams, a community activist from Brixton, on how Labour can win
back five million lost voters.
- Bombardier - government is halting the 'march of the
makers', Wednesday, September 14th -
where Unite and the RMT will press for action to save the UK's
remaining rail jobs.
All Unite fringe meetings will be held at lunchtime in Rooms 11
& 12 of the Radisson Kenilworth, Great Russell St (two minutes
from Congress House) and the media are welcome to attend.
For all press enquiries during Congress please contact :
Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931
315
Shaun Noble on 07768
693 940
Pauline Doyle on 07976 832 861
The Unite press office can be contacted on 020 3371 2065
Congress 2011 takes place at the
TUC's HQ in Great Russell Street, London WC1, from Monday,
September 12th, in the morning, concluding on the afternoon of
Wednesday, September 14th.
ENDS
