Politicians who continue to welcome contracts with US companies without considering the risks and consequences of total dependency in the years to come are undermining the raison d’etre of the NHS, argues Dr JOHN PUNTIS

TODAY’S special Congress called by the TUC could not be more timely, coming at a critical point in the struggle over the right to strike.
The Minimum Service Levels legislation that the Tories have forced through Parliament in recent months is an affront to a free and democratic society in which the liberty of working people to withdraw their labour is respected. It therefore demands the strongest possible response from the labour and trade union movement.
So, it is vital that trade unions take the opportunity presented by what TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has described as a “once in a generation gathering” to send a message to this contemptible Conservative government that workers will not lie down as their rights are ripped apart.

Labour must not allow unelected members of the upper house to erode a single provision of the Employment Rights Bill, argues ANDY MCDONALD MP


