Trade unions are about solidarity. The very name of our movement is symbolic of the fact that we are bound together by ties that go beyond nationality or location.
By John-Paul McHugh, Scottish officer at Community Trade Union
Trade unions are about solidarity. The very name of our movement is symbolic of the fact that we are bound together by ties that go beyond nationality or location.
We stand together with colleagues across the UK, campaigning as much for fairness in Scotland as we do in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
At a time of economic turmoil across the world now more than ever we need to stand together in the pursuit of social justice. Putting up barriers between workers in the rest of the UK makes no sense at all.
And workers across the whole of UK stand united in solidarity. Whether we are from Glasgow, Grimsby or Glamorgan, we know that by working together we can achieve so much more than we could apart.
Where is the social justice argument in abandoning colleagues south of the Border?
I am proud that Community members from across the UK have come together to say with a clear voice that we are better together and will campaign against Alex Salmond’s plan to break up the United Kingdom.
Working together with trade unionists across the UK we have achieved so much. From the National Minimum Wage, which the SNP failed to support, to health and safety legislation, pooling our resources across the UK has resulted in significant improvements for our workers.
Things are far from perfect, but the suggestion that workplace rights would be infinitely better in a separate Scotland is risible.
The complete failure of the SNP to support the Scottish steel industry when contracts were being handed out for the Forth Road Bridge replacement was a taste of what life would be like in a separate Scotland.
The SNP’s economic case for breaking up Britain appears to rest on cutting corporation tax for big business. When companies like Starbucks, Vodafone, Apple, Google and npower stand accused of avoiding tax on a grand scale, Alex Salmond wants to reduce their burden even further.
We are promised Scandinavian style public services and investment but Irish style levels of low taxation. It simply doesn’t stack up.
One area of significant concern to steel workers in Scotland is the impact of separation on pensions. Campaigners fought long and hard to establish the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF), the UK wide scheme which supports workers whose pension schemes go bust. What will happen to this if Scotland breaks away?
The failure of the SNP to provide any credible assurances on the PPF’s future is indicative of the flimsiness of their case.
Working together and pooling our resources is what the trade union movement, and Community in particular, is all about. Creating divisions on the basis of nationality is contrary to our whole world vision. We are so much stronger and better together as part of the UK.
49 Responses to “Trade unionism is not about creating even more divisions based on nationality”
pmcrek
I couldnt get very far reading the article it was utterly awful, I read all the comments though which were much more informed.
Ian Stewart,
What a truly awful article, It’s full of Lies and untruths, Im a trade Unionist and I saw no unity during the miners strike or when Thatcher was smashing up the Trade Unions, If Scotland was Independent there would still be solidarity with our commrades in other parts of the UK, There is that unity with Trade Unionist all over the world, The Truth is this article has nothing whatsoever about solidarity ! its a blatent attack on a country and its people who want self determination and to run their own affairs, As I say again Im a proud trade Unionist and You dont talk for me Mate !
Susan
“The complete failure of the SNP to support the Scottish steel industry
when contracts were being handed out for the Forth Road Bridge
replacement was a taste of what life would be like in a separate
Scotland.” If this was true then we would have seen guys from our
Scottish steel firms who had placed a bid and lost it to the foreign
companies dragged to First Minister’s Question time by Ms Lamont. John
McHugh, please stop patronising Scotland, we do deserve better than
this!
Jeannie
Given that the Labour Party has said it does not intend to repeal anti-trade union legislation, nor does it intend to repeal anti-social justice measures such as the bedroom tax, thus making it increasingly difficult for you, as a trade unionist, to properly represent, supportand improve the working conditions of your own members, could you tell me if you are now giving consideration to adopting a more-Scandinavian approach to working with employers? That is to say, participating directly at board level, working in partnership with employers and playing a part in the whole planning process when any changes are being considered within a company, so that both the company and the employees mutually benefit, as opposed to the current UK “us and them” approach which often results in ballots for strike action. I just ask as you mentioned Scandinavia in your article. As you will no doubt know, this approach has also been suggested by the Jimmy Reid Foundation in their advocacy of a “Common Weal” approach in an independent Scotland. I think it is an approach worth considering, but I do think we would need a fresh start as a small, independent state to make it work as there is just too much vested interest within UK organisations to allow it to work.
Eddie McReadie
The final sprint to independence is seeing the usual Labour worthies last ditch attempts to protect their jobs.
Scottish Labour’s new mantra should be “Say anything, Do anything, to stay on the Union Gravy Train’
And their new party song by Janet Jackson first released in 1986 (appropriately) ‘What have you done for me lately’
Real working men of Scotland are not fooled by this nonsense article.