The annual conference of the UK Trades Union Congress was overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 and closed early as a mark of respect to the victims. We report on the debates that did take place.
The annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), due to be held on 10-13 September 2001, closed early as a result of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States of America. The UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was present at the conference on the afternoon of 11 September to deliver a speech to delegates but returned to London without doing so, having made a short statement to the conference about the events in America. On the morning of 12 September, TUC leaders closed the conference early as a mark of respect to the victims of the terrorist attacks. All undebated motions were remitted to the TUC general council, which will consider them and circulate its comments to all affiliated unions.
Prior to its early closure, the conference adopted resolutions on a number of key issues. Among other matters, delegates called for:
- a wide range of amendments to the Employment Relations Act 1999 (UK9912145F), including the extension of the Act's union recognition provisions (UK0007183F) to cover smaller companies and the removal of the eight-week limit on the right of employees not to be dismissed during industrial disputes;
- statutory consultation requirements in respect of redundancies and closures regardless of the numbers of employees involved (UK9910134F); and
- amendments to the legal requirement on unions to give employers information about members involved in strike ballots or strike action.
The conference welcomed the progress made on the draft EU Directive on employee information and consultation ( EU0106219F) and urged the TUC general council to ensure that 'recognised unions have exclusive rights to information and consultation' and that 'where no union is recognised, employers must establish permanent, democratically-elected bodies to inform and consult the workforce'.
Delegates passed a resolution opposing the government's proposal to introduce a fee for submitting an application to an employment tribunal (UK0108142N), on the grounds that 'this will not only penalise low paid and unemployed workers, but also clearly undermines the principle of equal access to justice for all.' A further resolution '[regretted] the government's failure to accept the recommendations of the [Equal Opportunities Commission's] task force on the need for compulsory equal pay audits' (UK0104126F).
A resolution on the future of manufacturing called on the government to 'develop an active industrial policy to support the growth of UK manufacturing, placing full employment in every region at the heart of the strategy'. The early closure of the conference averted the widely expected criticism by delegates of the government's plans for greater private sector involvement in the management and provision of public services.
In a speech to the conference, trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt announced the publication of proposals to amend the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, including to provide better protection of employees' occupational pension rights. She also confirmed that the government was committed to reviewing the operation of the Employment Relations Act, and said that if further legislation was needed it would be timetabled during the current parliament.