Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Communists resolve to help build ‘militant shop stewards' movement’ to reverse long-term trends of decline in trade unions
NHS workers take part in a march from St Thomas' Hospital to Trafalgar Square, London, as members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Unite union continue their strike action in a dispute over pay, May 1, 2023

COMMUNISTS committed to work to build a militant shop stewards’ movement at their 57th Congress today, resolving that “the strength of the trade union movement can be linked directly, though not exclusively, to the collective power of workers on the shop floor.”

Merseyside delegate Nigel Flanagan warned that trade unions, “despite a summer of outstanding action and some successes, are still suffering from long-term trends of decline.

“Even during the strike wave, trade union membership declined by another 200,000 — 122,000 of them were women workers in the private sector,” he stressed.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Joanne Thomas campaigning for safe shopwork
Durham Miners’ Gala 2025 / 12 July 2025
12 July 2025

Incoming Usdaw general secretary JOANNE THOMAS talks to Ben Chacko about workers’ rights, Labour and how to arrest the decline of the high street

Striking school support workers taking part in a demonstration outside First Minister John Swinney's constituency office in Blairgowrie, October 24, 2024
Features / 17 June 2025
17 June 2025

KEVAN NELSON reveals how, through its Organising to Win strategy, which has launched targeted campaigns like Pay Fair for Patient Care, Britain’s largest union bucked the trend of national decline by growing by 70,000 members in two years

Activists from Reform UK at Merchants House of Glasgow, as First Minister John Swinney convenes a gathering on protecting Scotland's values and democratic resilience, which brings together political, faith and community leaders from across society
Labour Movement / 10 May 2025
10 May 2025

From Workers’ Memorial Day to May Day rallies, TOM MORRISON examines the real challenges facing the labour movement as Reform UK’s glossy literature exploits legitimate grievances in traditional left strongholds

TASKED: The newly elected National Domestic Workers Council
Books / 10 January 2025
10 January 2025
JOHN GRAVERSGAARD recommends a study of trade union organising that brings together exemplary lessons from the Uk and Kenya