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As Employment Minister I take great pride in the achievements that have made a substantial improvement to the lives of working people in the UK. Significantly these gains have come about through dialogue between employers and employees based not on the old style of conflict but on a new reality of cooperation.
In a fast changing global economy a highly informed confident and trained workforce is essential – and the unions’ role is critical. The modern workforce looks to unions to demonstrate leadership and engagement with managers on a whole range of issues – workers expect their representatives to be constructive partners working with bosses seeking solutions that serve the joint interests of union members and the company. When this works – as it has in many cases - unions demonstrate powerfully that they are a force for good. That is why the government, through the Dti, has supplied Partnership Funding to hundreds of projects.
Building on some of the good work in the Partnership Fund we have established the Union Modernisation Fund. This is a unique opportunity for unions to examine critically what they need to do to position themselves for the 21st century and attract members. If unions are not attractive to the modern workforce, they face a bleak of decline, merger or abolition. It is shocking to think that two thirds of Britain’s private sector workplaces have no union members. We believe unions have too much to offer not to address modern challenges. This is why – for the first time – the government is providing investment funding for unions. Business has long taken advantage of this. This era of cooperation and constructive dialogue does not mean unions should stop being vocal about their concerns where this is appropriate. Unions should push the employment agenda to improve people’s lives. It is equally important for government to listen to the views of all who have an input to maintaining a successful labour market. But at the same time it is important for unions to recognise that legislation has its limits. It is not a replacement for their role in negotiating with employers.
We are in Labour’s historic Third Term. Our political opponents are trying to bring themselves closer to our politics, recognising their popularity and success. However when it comes to employment rights they quickly rediscover their rightwing agenda. David Cameron, for example, objects to the introduction of paternity leave in Labour’s Work and Families Bill!
It is only through a Labour government that workers will go on enjoying benefits from progressive policies. Our first term was about reducing Tory unemployment levels. We have done this and have secured relative full employment. Our second term was about securing fairness at work by ending unacceptable abuses. Our third term is about how the world of work interacts with peoples’ lives and how employment can be made more accessible to groups of people with complex needs. The 2005 manifesto was an important landmark between the Labour Party and the Trade Union Movement. At the National Policy Forum in Warwick we achieved a groundbreaking agreement setting out the labour market agenda for this Parliament.
Over 50% of the Warwick commitments have been implemented or are a work in progress. This demonstrates our commitment to the people who elected us. I look forward to being able to announce how the remainder of the programme will be implemented very soon. We then need to make sure that we embark on a programme of communication so that union members and their families will be aware of Labour’s achievements in securing a better deal for working people. We cannot rely on a media that prefers to portray our achievements as burdens on business, rather than as a positive step to raising standards and tackling unscrupulous employers.
This article originally appeared in the February 2006 edition of the Locomotive - ASLEF's Journal.
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