THERE will be no honeymoon period for Andy Burnham when it comes to workers’ rights, Unison made clear in the countdown to the new PM’s coronation.

Burnham disappointed some supporters the Monday before he entered Downing Street, voting for Shabana Mahmood’s Immigration and Asylum Bill at second reading — confirming the mood music of his Makerfield by-election campaign, when he said he backed the Home Secretary’s policy.

That policy includes doubling the qualifying period for migrant workers to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five to 10 years — and, in the case of care workers, tripling it to 15 years.

Care workers are lumped with so-called “low-skilled” workers in being set the highest hurdle, itself an indication of ministers’ disrespect.

But as Unison national officer Clare Williams also tells the Morning Star, “the government’s proposals are unfair and unjust. We asked people to come and work in our health and social care sector, and now the government wants to penalise them.”

At a lobby of Parliament last month, migrant care workers pointed to the broken-promise aspect of the changes, noting they made big decisions to uproot and accept jobs in our care system on terms that have now been changed. The mass lobby was part of the union’s ongoing Fair Visa campaign.

“Until that legislation is changed, and Unison gets assurances from government that they won’t treat people unfairly and particularly that retrospective application to people already here won’t happen, we will be pursuing our Fair Visa campaign with whoever the prime minister is.”

Unison have 200,000 migrant worker members, she points out, and the campaign is one that other unions can be brought on board with. “There are other unions such as the RMT which understand the centrality of the campaign,” because they too have migrant worker members.

“They understand the personal impact on those workers, but also the impact it has on delivering public services. As a country we’ve asked these people to come here and fill vacancies. We have to treat them fairly.”

Co-operation with RMT has already begun with an agreement to jointly campaign against outsourcing public services.

“We’ve always understood the collective power of trade unions working together,” Williams says. “We are working with RMT on an insourcing campaign.

“Workers in industries with high levels of outsourcing see their pay and working conditions reduced, because shareholder profit is maximised by paying people less money and having very poor terms and conditions.

“Unison and the RMT are absolutely committed to holding the Labour government — and all politicians actually — to account. Instead of public money being used to line shareholders’ pockets, it should be used to invest in decent services, to pay staff properly and to treat people with respect.

“We need to see Labour starting to put detail on their commitment to the biggest wave of insourcing. We need public services delivered directly by the public sector.”

The union is also calling for proper investment in these services, and has publicly opposed the outgoing government’s prioritisation of increased military spending instead.

“Public-sector workers are still struggling with the cost-of-living crisis,” real-terms wages having shrunk dramatically in the austerity years. “Struggling even to put food on the table in many cases.

“And our public services are struggling with a lack of funding. We need investment in public service infrastructure and in the workforce. We’re making the case to government about the importance of prioritising investment in public services, as opposed to, well, bombs and warfare.”

Divisions over spending priorities, as well as how to manage a just transition, led to unions lining up on opposite sides over who the chancellor of the Exchequer should be — some, including Unison, publicly backing Ed Miliband and others insisting he should not get the job.

“Our economic and industrial policies are made by our members at our annual conference and it’s the general secretary [Andrea Egan’s] role when decisions are being taken about key roles in government, that we’re clear what policies we want to see promoted.”

Egan struck a combative tone at the recent Durham Miners’ Gala, saying union leaders should be preparing workers for a wave of strike action to secure better pay, terms and conditions — an unusually confrontational stance towards a Labour government.

“Our duty is to support Unison members to improve their working conditions and their lives,” Williams says. “We see on a daily basis that public-sector workers are struggling, worrying about how they can pay their bills, keep up with the mortgage or the rent. We have large numbers of public-sector workers still having to use foodbanks.

“So Unison will continue to support members fighting to get a better deal, and ultimately much more respect at work, and it’s our responsibility to do that whoever is in government.

“What we ask of the Labour government is to listen to the voices of public-sector workers and do the right thing.”