GMB Magazine GMB24 Centre Point Spring 2016 | Page 26

POLITICAL

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Don’t lose your
voice at work!
The Trade Union Bill is anti democratic and
designed to attack unions, says GMB political
officer Stephanie Peacock
which goes much further than undermining
the fundamental right to strike. It is an
attempt to limit our ability to campaign on
issues that matter; from wages to job security.

WOMEN HIT HARDEST
TUC statistics show that three quarters
of union members affected by this bill
are women, which is unsurprising when
you consider the fact that 67 per cent of
public sector workers are women, as are
79 per cent of
healthcare workers
and 72 per cent
of those who work
in education.
But when we
talk of statistics,
we must remember
that 76 per cent
of the eligible
population didn’t vote for this.
That’s over three quarters of the population
who do not support the state censorship of
opposition, the privatisation of public
services and the removal of tax credits.
Nearly 1,000 people attended a lobby of
Parliament, hundreds have contacted their

“The Bill is a clear
assault on both
workers’ rights
and civil liberties”

MPs, and here in the West Midlands, we
organised a public meeting in Bromsgrove
where Sajid Javid, the minister responsible,
is the MP. As trade union members we must
mobilise and campaign with the majority to
continue to oppose this bill and the many
other ideological attacks this government
is intent on implementing.
If you want to get involved in the campaign
against the Trade Union Bill, please contact
Stephanie Peacock at stephanie.peacock@
gmb.org.uk

SWITCH TO IT
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26 CENTRE POINT – GMB Birmingham and West Midlands

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18/02/2016 11:05

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T

he Trade Union Bill will severely
curtail the right to strike, effectively
end national industrial action,
criminalise pickets, end the
post-war consensus on party funding, ban
the collection of union payments by ‘check
off’ and allow agency workers to replace
striking union members. The list just goes
on. There is no evidence to justify these
changes and they can only be seen as an
assault on workers’ rights and civil liberties.
Only 24 per cent of those eligible to vote in
the UK voted for the
Tories, yet they have
no shame in imposing
increased thresholds
of 50 per cent on trade
union ballots, with
non-voters being
classed as no voters; this
will essentially mean an
80 per cent requirement
for industrial action. This
is a level of support that no member of
parliament is subjected to and one that the
government doesn’t even come close to.
It is no accident that the Trade Union
Reform Bill, currently going through
parliament, is a complex piece of legislation,