TUC union conference backs calls for coordinated action

Rail, post and telecoms workers struck together on 1 October. A rally at King’s Cross station on the day (Picture: Guy Smallman)

A mood to fight back against the Tories infused the first day of the TUC union federation’s annual congress on Tuesday. The congress, held in Brighton, included calls for mass—and crucially coordinated—resistance.

It is the first in-person meeting of its kind since 2019, with debates set to continue till Thursday. 

Trade union leaders used it as an opportunity to call for more strikes to defend services and for pay rises. At a time when prime minister Liz Truss’s premiership is looking shakier by the day, turning such talk into action could drive out all of the Tories. 

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, told congress that civil service workers could be ready to join strikes as early as November. “We want a general election but we don’t know when it will be so we need to fight together,” he said. “If PCS wins its ballots it stands prepared to take action on the same day as any other union with live ballots”.

The central tension across the congress was over the question of coordinated action. Some, such as RMT rail union leader Mick Lynch and Serwotka, led the charge in demanding mass strikes throughout a number of unions.

And some of the more conservative elements of the trade union bureaucracy made the right noises. Christina McAnea, Unison union general secretary, declared, “Coordinated action unites us.” 

Delegates passed a composite motion that called on the TUC to “establish, convene and provide resources for a special working group of willing unions which would organise coordinated action over pay and terms and conditions where possible with all TUC unions”. 

This includes “further demonstrations, national and regional rallies, and coordinated industrial action where possible”. The motion also called for “pay increases at least in line with inflation.” 

A delegate from the NAHT union—mainly made up of head teachers—told congress that its members could strike alongside workers in the NEU and NASUWT education unions.

In her keynote speech as outgoing TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady placed her focus on a general election because “This whole rotten Tory government must go.” And she slammed the greed of the rich while most ordinary people face a terrifying winter.

“No layoffs this winter, no boardroom bonanzas and no shareholder sprees,” she said. “Put the cap back on bankers’ bonuses, let’s have a bigger tax on greedy energy giants and don’t just bail them out, bring them into public ownership”.

There is tension bubbling under the warm words of trade union leaders. Some, such as O’Grady, place the focus on an election—ultimately to elect Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. Others are—for now—leaning heavily into the idea of coordinated action.

That tension came to the surface on Tuesday, when Lynch called for an “uprising”. At a PCS fringe meeting, he sent out a message to “beware of the TUC”, in case union federation top bods try to undermine workers’ demands. “We’ve got to keep workers keen, and make sure there’s no sellout,” he said. 

Lynch was talking about the Tories’ plans to further restrict the right to strike. O’Grady had told the congress, “We’ve already taken legal counsel. So, read my lips—we will see you in court,” she warned the government. But unions cannot rely on the courts to stop the Tories’ anti-union laws assault—it will take action on the picket lines and streets to defeat it. 

Other motions during the day discussed the cost of living, climate change and health and safety issues. One of the biggest debates centred around PCS being part of a legal case against the government over the Rwanda deportations policy. And Neville Lawrence, father of Stephen Lawrence who was brutally murdered in a racist attack, addressed the conference at the start of a session on fighting racism.

The RMT has called three strike days on Network Rail for 3, 5 and 7 November, and on the London Underground and London Overground Networks on 3 November. 

Activists have to fight to turn the union leaders’ words about coordination into action.