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Section1: Trade Unions & the Link
Section 2: The Warwick Agreement
Section 3: Issues for Working People
Section 4: General Political Issues
I joined my trade union on the first day I became a postman and the Labour Party soon after that. Was first elected to the branch committee at the age of 23. Elected to the Union Executive at 30 and as General Secretary in 1992. I sat on the General Council of the TUC. Then following the merger that created the CWU on the Trade Union Section of the National Executive Committee before being elected MP for Hull West & Hessle in 1997. Since then I have been PPS, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Minister of State and Secretary of State in three departments.
Jack Jones described it as “murder yes, Divorce – never!” We will never divorce; the link to me is inviolable but it would be good to take the “murder” element out, which usually meant falling into opposition for long periods. The trade union link with the Labour Party should be strengthened at every level. For example, I would like to see a stronger constitutional and physical connection between Constituency Labour Parties and trade union branches at a local level.
A Labour government can help trade unions to prosper. High levels of employment, a strong public sector and supportive legislation creates a fertile environment in which unions can grow. Add to that the policy link with the party that produced the Warwick agenda and the influence of unions is strong. No institution has more to lose from the election of a Conservative government than the Trade Union movement.
I have consistently argued that trade unions should be able to continue funding the Labour Party through the open, transparent and democratic processes that currently operate. I agree that there should be a cap on total expenditure at general elections. I am not convinced that substantial state funding of political parties is the way forward, but accept that if we close down that option we must leave other avenues for political parties to raise funds openly.
The answer is not what the party does or doesn’t do with contemporary resolutions – the answer is to look at the overall process of policy making itself which currently creates the kind of tensions we have seen. This needs changing – we need a close look at how we can develop a more fluid and inclusive process of policy making. For example, greater trade union representation on the National Policy Forum would ensure a more significant input by trade unions into the development of party policy.
Together with Gerry Sutcliffe I had responsibility for ensuring the DTI aspects of Warwick were implemented. For instance we determined that as well as adding eight bank holidays to four weeks’ holiday entitlement, those bank holidays should also be paid.
Warwick is a substantial series of agreements about party policy development that ultimately has an impact on most departments of government. Unions will have differing views about what is the most important element. The whole package is important but if I had to pick one aspect it would be the support for vulnerable workers.
Unions have a crucial role in some of the major issues of our age such as pensions, the environment and climate change, the skills agenda and energy security. I don’t see union influence confined to a box marked “Warwick 2”.
Climate change and the environment are now so important that I believe the time has come for trade unions to have a key workplace role in environmental protection. This need not be over complicated; workplace health and safety representatives could have their responsibilities extended to cover environmental protection issues supported by government funding for training.
In relation to the EU Directive we need to assess whether it has any chance of making progress. If not we should introduce domestic legislation to ensure agency workers enjoy better employment protection, without damaging their employment prospects.
At DfES we want all employers to agree to sign up to a pledge to ensure all their employees are trained to a minimum Level 2 skill (equivalent to 5 good GCSEs). The public sector as a major employer is a pathfinder here and the major departments of state will sign the pledge. As employers of temporary and agency workers I would like to ensure contractors to government sign the pledge also. That way agency and temporary workers can gain the skills they need to find better paid, permanent employment.
I have done much in this area already. At DTI I introduced family friendly policies including the “right to request” and paternity leave arrangements. The Women and Work Commission was an important milestone and its recommendations should be implemented across the board.
I led the campaign against Tory plans to privatise the Post Office. The Tories dictum was “Private sector good – public sector bad.” I reject that Orwellian notion and its reverse.
In some cases there are perfectly valid reasons for the transfer of staff to the private sector and comprehensive protections in place for the employees involved. The challenge for the trade union movement is to organise successfully in the private sector.
At DTI I managed the implementation of the Company Law Reform Act. This was the biggest shake up of Company Law for one hundred years and made public companies more accountable to employees, shareholders and consumers.
Since then I have expressed concerns publicly about the way private equity firms have behaved, particularly in regards to their attitude towards collective bargaining arrangements when they acquire companies – including Birds Eye in my constituency. I think companies undertaking leveraged buy-outs should provide a cash/asset base as part of their bid in order to protect retirement benefits.
GMB have skilfully bought the activities of private equity businesses into public consciousness. By highlighting such behaviour and in particular trying to influence public attitudes trade unions can force private equity to act far more like public companies.
At DTI I included pensions in the list of statutory collective bargaining topics!
I am currently developing policies for skills at DfES which will have a profound impact on the ability of trade unions to influence the training agenda.
We have already introduced significant maternity and paternity rights which help all working parents regardless of income or parental status. Indeed I extended these rights while at DTI. There is a right to request flexible working and 90% of such requests have been successful. I implemented the extension of this right to carers and we need to explore how we can extend it further. We have also introduced free part time education for all three and four year olds and tax credits to pay towards childcare.
Unpaid parental leave also needs to be seen as an enhancement to the rights for paid leave for both parents in the second six months of maternity leave.
The maintenance of an independent nuclear deterrent was a clear manifesto commitment. We will not encourage the North Koreans, for example, to suspend their nuclear programme by unilaterally removing our own capability. As a party we established a policy of support for multilateral nuclear disarmament in the 1980s and I see no case for going back on this. We need to pursue multilateral disarmament through the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.
They are certainly part of the improvement of education in England. Academies are non-selective, all ability schools. Where they have replaced failing schools in deprived areas the improvement in attainment has been significant. Trusts provide a way of forging enduring partnerships between schools, Further Education Colleges, Universities, charities and businesses that can improve the ethos and attainment in our education system.
Of course we are doing a lot more in respect of investment in all state schools including rebuilding or refurbishing every secondary school in the country.
I was raised in Notting Hill during the race riots. Then it was Oswald Moseley seeking election to Parliament by exploiting working class concerns about immigration. Now it’s the BNP. Unlike France we have largely contained the attempts of the far right to gain a foothold in mainstream politics. A major reason for this has been the implacable position taken by Labour and the trade union movement in defence of diversity. The campaign by the TUC in support of EU migrants is the latest manifestation of this fine tradition. But of course we can never be complacent about this.
In education we have a crucial role to play. The Adjegbo report on citizenship that I commissioned found that some white working class communities felt they had no traditions and such concepts were unique to the BME community. From September every school will have a duty to pursue community cohesion and Ofsted will inspect schools to ensure that this important concept becomes a practical reality. We must also ensure that our immigration and asylum laws are seen to be fair and equitable. White working class communities need to know that we are listening to their concerns and seeking to resolve them.
Lifting the statutory age at which young people must either be in school, college or receiving training at work to 18.
A more widespread adherence to information and consultation so that the workforce is permanently engaged in the decisions which effect their future.
Through WTO trade agreements, the associated initiatives on Aid for Trade and the way in which the developed world provides aid.
With fresh impetus behind social housing we should be able to refurbish existing stock to a decent standard and build new homes. I know that many argue for a fourth option for Local Authorities. Government doesn’t have endless resources and its right that we lever in as much independent money as possible so that tenants can get new or refurbished homes as quickly as possible. In future, however, we need to look at what we can do to promote a level playing field on social housing so that all councils can build more social housing.
See my answer under Warwick above. Climate change and the environment are now so important that I believe the time has come for trade unions to have a key workplace role in environmental protection. This need not be over complicated; workplace health and safety representatives could have their responsibilities extended to cover environmental protection issues supported by government funding for training.
Read my statement on why trade union members should vote for me
Read my biography
Read my responses to the UnionsTogether Election Survey
View my UnionsTogether TV Interview
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