WHEN I made my first keynote speech, as a freshly elected general secretary in 2019, I spoke about how we were living through a level of uncertainty beyond anything in living memory. Uncertainty for the country’s future, for the sectors where we organise and for the members we represent. Today, looking back at everything that has happened since then, that word uncertainty, didn’t even begin to cover it.

Labour’s worst election defeat since 1935. Four Tory prime ministers. A global pandemic. A cost-of-living crisis. International turmoil. The world, the country and our members have been battered by headwinds we could not have imagined, hit hard by crisis after crisis. We faced a hostile Tory government and the Labour Party, the party founded by the trade unions, faced the very real threat of extinction.

I don’t look back on those times fondly, but I do look back on them proudly and so should our reps, because Usdaw got through those times in the same way we always have — by standing together. Member by member, rep by rep, workplace by workplace, we have rebuilt our organising strength and through our political links we have helped to rebuild the Labour Party, so that it can begin the work of rebuilding the country. There is still a long road ahead, but together, we have achieved so much.

Retail workers, distribution workers, manufacturing workers, all Usdaw members, are the people who keep this country going, but so often, their contribution is overlooked. That’s why we keep on challenging the lazy thinking of those who see our members’ work as unskilled or unimportant, when we know that nothing can be further from the truth.

We know that our members can and should expect better treatment, better pay, better conditions and we have fought for better, winning at the negotiating table, winning in court, like challenging Tesco on fire and rehire. Winning in Parliament with the Employment Rights Bill and protections against violence and abuse. It’s what we do.

We are not here to showboat or court controversy for the sake of it, but we are here to stand up for what’s right. I would like to pay testament to those Weetabix members who took part in industrial action last week. Standing in solidarity with each other and standing up against an unacceptable pay offer from their employer. Usdaw always sees industrial action as a last resort. However, when negotiations fail, Usdaw will always be prepared to back our members and take whatever actions are necessary.

I’ve had the privilege of serving Usdaw for the last 35 years. I’m pleased that it will be a strong and thriving union I leave behind, when I retire in July. It is my greatest hope, that in another 35 years it will be even stronger. We need to be prepared to fight for our members, whenever and wherever they need us, because make no mistake — employers are not easing up.

We’ve all heard their complaints about the costs of doing business. About the costs of employing people, our members. We want businesses to do well. We want the retail sector to thrive, but we will never accept that basic security at work, decent wages or proper sick pay are a burden on business.

Employers are focused, more than ever, on their bottom line. We’re seeing mounting pressures on jobs, hours and working conditions. When those pressures rise to the surface, we need to be ready. Big businesses have teams of lawyers and consultants. They have deep pockets and the only way we can level the playing field is by investing in our collective strength, growing our union, training and developing our reps, maintaining and improving the expert advice and guidance our members need, building our campaigns and making us visible in every workplace.

The Employment Rights Bill is a massive step forward for workers and the trade union movement. It brings us unparalleled opportunities, to recruit and represent workers in new and existing agreements. We need to be ready to take up those opportunities, so that every worker across our sectors gets the benefit of the union standing behind them and so that remain an authentic voice for workers.

We don’t know what the next few years will bring, but we will be ready to shelter our members against the storms of economic uncertainty, rapid changes in technology and global instability. To win better protections at work, improved pay and conditions and more job security.