Conservatives pledge to be more anti-trade union

The Conservatives are planning more anti-trade union legislation if they are in government beyond 2015. Under draconian new plans, strike ballots will not be valid unless at least 40% of members vote in favour of strike action. This isn't a minimum turnout level, it means that a close ballot will require a turnout of almost 80% for strike action to be legal. To put the figure into perspective general election turnout is around 60% Council elections are around 30% and the some police commissioners gained the support of fewer than 10% of the electorate.

This move is further evidence that the Tories are retreating to their old ways: It is as if the last 30 years never happened. Most employers no longer view unions as the enemy, and most unions are not at war with employers. Forward looking employers work with unions to improve staff relations and solve problems proactively. Unions work with employers to safeguard jobs and pay even when budgets are under pressure.

Strike action is always a last resort - refusal to work for a day or an extended period is by its very nature, a failure of all other negotiations. It results in hardship for workers and damage to employers. Unions only call strike action when jobs are at risk or hard won terms and conditions are under threat. Members only vote in favour of strike action when they feel they have exhausted other options.

Before elections, governments make many promises. Pledging to be more anti trade union is a strange promise, unlikely to win many friends other than traditional Conservatives who, like their leadership, cling onto an outdated vision of industrial relations. Policies like this are more about stopping old school Tories turning to UKIP and appeasing backbenchers. It is yet another case of David Cameron putting the interests of the Conservative party before the National interest.

The big issue facing the country today is not that workers have too many rights. It is that too many people are on working too few hours in precarious jobs. There are areas of employment law where there is need for change; to prevent extended use of exploitative zero hours contracts, which trap people unable to get on the housing ladder or plan for the future.

In making changes to strike ballots pre-election pledge, we can see that Conservatives have very different priorities than most people. They are out of touch, this year, they could also also find themselves out of government.

Tory Attitudes Towards our Region

Guest blog: David Williams from Stocksfield writes;

"I was interested to read in The Journal on 6th November that the Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, has got his foot on the first rung of the ladder of government. I refer to his position as pump-primer at Prime Minister's Questions which permitted David Cameron to make the outrageous claim that his Government has been responsible for the small (2-3%) rise in exports from the region but ignored the fact that the number of young people unemployed for over a year is up 62% since he came to office.

To get an accurate view of the Tories attitude to this region, people should have watched the debate on 28th October in the Commons to consider if the Thatcher government misled the country over the pit closure programme thirty years ago . It was an eye-opener!

Labour MPs from all the major coalfields in the North East, Yorkshire, Nottingham, Scotland and Wales spoke. The only exception was the small Kent coalfield which was not mentioned at all. These MPs inluded many who were personally involved in the dispute and experienced the strike and its aftermath. These included Dave Anderson, Ian Lavery, Ronnie Campbell and Pat Glass who pointed out the lack of support for the communities affected and went on to call for regeneration assistance now to help communities which are still suffering today from the closure of their pits.

Most Tories, including Mr Opperman, were absent for the duration of the debate which indicates their lack of true conern for the future of the former coalfields.

The opening proposal for the debate was responded to by a junior minister with a prepared statement who then immediately left the Chamber never to reappear. His interest was over!

Some two and a half hours later, another Tory minister, female this time, entered the Chamber and sat on the Front Bench. Significantly she was accompanied by Cabinet Minister, Eric Pickles.

She then read another prepared paper to wind up the debate on behalf of the Government but believe it or not, all she spoke about, in some detail, was the developments on the former Betteshanger Colliery site and how her Government had funded new buildings, etc. which had created jobs for former miners and their families.

Where is Betteshanger? In Kent, of course. The one former coalfield never mentioned or represented in the debate but very near Rochester & Strood constituency where a crucial, to the Tories, bye-election is imminent.

When her blatant electioneering was greeted wth cries of derision from the opposition she paused, only to be told by Pickles to “plough on”.

This proves that the Tories have no interest whatsoever in the future of the North East but are prepared to put their Government's and party's survival before the interests of the nation."

Egger

I had an interesting meeting with senior managers at Egger in Hexham last week to discuss the achievements and challenges faced by the company. I was accompanied by Paul Brannen one of our North East MEPs. It's great that we have two Labour MEP for the North East, Jude and Paul are have met with many of the regions main employers since they were elected and are working hard to achieve policy changes at a European level, that secure jobs and promote growth here in our region. Paul and I met with the management teams for Egger, the chipboard manufacturer and Egger forestry, which is a separate company offering a complete forest management service.

Egger has remained in a strong position, in spite of the global economic downturn, producing materials not only for the building trade but also finished products for home improvements such as laminate flooring and furniture. Two separate policy areas which could help employers like Egger and SCA paper products in Prudhoe are agriculture and skills.

The supply of high quality raw materials is vital to the business. Up to 40% of recycled wood can be used but the rest must come from sustainable sources such as Kielder forest. There is a biomass power plant on the Egger site which burns wood particles that are too fine to be incorporated into wood products but any policy that encourages burning wood before it has been used for other purposes does not help manufacturers of wood products.

The one of other challenges faced by employers is a shortage of skills; across the manufacturing sector skilled engineers are in short supply. Egger do a great job in training their own apprentices but more are needed and if I was giving careers advice I would advise young people to give careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths serious consideration.

Work must be done to address the skills shortage. Vocational routes are just as valid as more traditional University courses. I also think that there need to be a radical change in the way that vocational qualifications and apprenticeships are applied for. One change would be to have higher level vocational training and apprenticeships applied for via the UCAS system, so that students studying Level 3 qualifications such as A-Levels are presented with a full range of options.

It was great to join Paul for this meeting, afterwards he said;

“Egger is the jewel in the Hexham economy and is a real European success story. Not only is Egger an economic force in its own right but it brings jobs through the supply chain. It is the biggest single buyer of timber from Kielder for example. As a member of the European Agriculture and Rural Development Committee I believe that the North East is well poised to expand our rural economy and deliver growth and jobs.”