Labour’s new deal for workers must be at the heart of our offer to the public

This year, HeartUnions week falls at a critical time for the union movement and working people. We are in the midst of a wages crisis. Families across the country are under huge pressure, as bills are soaring but pay just isn’t keeping up. This comes on top of the longest and harshest pay squeeze in modern history. Working people got us through the pandemic, keeping the country fed, cared for and connected. Now, as the cost-of-living crisis bites, workers across the country desperately need a proper pay rise that keeps up with the cost of living.

Everyone is feeling the pinch. We’re all feeling the impact of the soaring price of food and eye-watering energy bills. It cannot be right that the majority are being asked to keep tightening their belts when their pay doesn’t keep up with prices. Many people are at breaking point and just can’t afford another real-terms pay cut.

The pandemic felt like it might be a turning point. We clapped from our doorsteps, and said key workers should be properly respected and rewarded. Working people had kept the country going. There could be no going back to the bad old days when we didn’t value work properly.

But we have gone back. And arguably, things have actually got worse, as it’s working people who are being asked to pay the price for the inflation crisis by swallowing yet another real-terms pay cut. Instead of doing their job and getting to grips with the cost-of-living crisis and public services that are stretched to breaking point, the Tories are playing politics by attacking working people and the right to strike.

Rather than coming to the negotiating table, the Conservatives are bringing forward a bill that undermines the right to strike, forcing key workers back to work under threat of being sacked. In two years, they’ve gone from clapping key workers to threatening to fire them for taking action for fair pay.

That’s why Labour are opposing this bill and have promised to repeal it if it’s passed. Everyone is seeing their incomes squeezed and their standard of living fall as prices soar. That’s why working people and their unions are standing up for proper pay rises. Nobody takes strike action lightly, only ever as a last resort. When the government has refused to negotiate on pay, what other choice do workers have?

Trade unions are taking action to fight against real-terms pay cuts for their members, and they want to see wages rise across the board too. Yet again, the Tories want to divide the country and pit working people against each other.

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Labour’s new deal for working people – drawn up in partnership with the affiliated unions and launched at conference 2021 by Angela Rayner – is a plan to change things for the better for working people. Keir Starmer has promised that a Labour government will write this plan into law within 100 days of taking office. This is the trade union link in action.

• Labour will strengthen rights at work for all workers from day one on the job.
• Labour will end fire and rehire.
• Labour will make work more family-friendly and make it easier to balance work with home, community and family life.
• Labour will ban zero-hours contracts and ensure everyone has the right to regular hours they can rely on.
• Labour will strengthen trade union rights, raising pay and conditions.
• Labour will bring in fair pay agreements to drive up pay and conditions for all workers, using sectoral collective bargaining.

Better rights, stronger unions, higher pay – a comprehensive plan to improve the lives of working people by strengthening individual and collective rights. Unlike the Tories, who want to undermine the unions’ ability to fight for better pay and conditions, Labour are committed to strengthening trade unions by repealing anti-trade union laws, including the Trade Union Act, and introducing new rights to help unions recruit, organise and win a better deal for their members. It’s a policy platform we can unite around – and that we can be proud of.

The new deal is not just the right plan for government. It’s also a key part of our route to winning the next election. To gain the support of the broad coalition of voters that we need to unite in order to win, we have to demonstrate that we understand voters’ lives and can be trusted to improve them. In the midst of a wages crisis, our practical plan to raise wages and make Britain work for working people must be at the heart of our offer to the public.

This HeartUnions week, let’s remind ourselves of the importance of the right to organise and bargain collectively through a trade union. As Labour’s new deal says: “When acting alone, workers are often denied their fair share – but when backed by the collective power of their colleagues and trade unions, they can better secure their share of the wealth they helped to create. The labour movement’s historic achievements have come through giving people power and a voice at work by means of collective action and collective representation. Labour is committed to strengthening the rights of working people by empowering workers to organise collectively through trade unions.”

Find out more about the new deal and see our campaign resources on our website. Join the campaign to defend the right to strike here.