PREDICTIONS that the trades councils annual conference would suffer from the forced permanent move to Congress House by the TUC general council were borne out this year as attendance was down considerably.
 
However, the quality of debate most certainly had not suffered and delegates passed a motion to overturn the decision to move venue and reinstate the previous practice of the conference moving around England and Wales in future, hosted by local trades councils.
 
This motion was then voted to go to congress this year to be moved by the trades council delegate and North West TUCJCC rep Kevin Allsop.
 
Tyne and Wear association of trades councils’ motion on peace and a new Lucas Plan, moved by Martin Levy, recognised that “many workers’ jobs depend on the production of instruments of death” but their production and use do not promote the interests of the peoples of Ukraine, Israel or Palestine but instead those of the transnational corporations who seek control of markets and resources.
 
The successful motion called on trades councils and unions to support and promote a new Lucas Plan for a just transition to alternative peaceful production for workers in the defence industries.
 
It recognised that wars in Ukraine and Gaza have been a bonanza for weapons manufacturers and without a change in foreign policy to one of co-operation and peaceful resolution these and other conflicts have the potential to spiral out of control. New model rules were voted on and adopted.
 
Living legend John Dunn from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, who was attacked, arrested and victimised from the miners’ strike, also addressed the conference with a powerful and moving speech. His case is currently hidden under the Official Secrets Act until 2071.
 
Paul Nowak became the first TUC general secretary to address this conference. He praised the conference chair Simon Weller and his union Aslef for successfully fighting the minimum service levels (MSL) legislation which will be fully defeated if an incoming Labour government makes good on its promises to repeal anti-union laws within the first 100 days.

“If ‘a new deal’ is introduced then unions would be able to organise workers immediately at notoriously anti-union employers such as Amazon.”
 
He reiterated the TUC’s promise to stand by any worker affected by MSLs and said that “it is our job to push and call our a Labour government and to be ambitious for working people.”
 
He criticised the Labour Party “who made a mistake last year with their position on Gaza” and said that “the TUC took a different approach calling for an immediate ceasefire.”
 
He also confirmed that the TUC general council is looking at options for the future of Congress House — either to refurbish for £20 million or to sell.
 
The conference ended with all delegates singing a rousing version of the Internationale.
 
Nick Kelleher is the TUCJCC rep for Midlands West and delegate for Wolverhampton and Bilston district TUC.