FT: Union chief wants joint TUC, CBI conference

Mr P.A. Van Heusden pvanheus at hgmp.mrc.ac.uk
Tue Sep 14 03:13:52 PDT 1999


http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/q15952e.htm

Union chief wants joint TUC, CBI conference

By Robert Taylor and Robert Peston

TUC The Trades Union Congress should scrap its annual conference and

hold a joint gathering every other year with the Confederation of

British Industry, a leading trade unionist is proposing.

As the TUC meets in Brighton, Sir Ken Jackson, general secretary of

the AEEU manufacturing union, is also pressing for trade unions to

give up the strike threat weapon in the interests of industrial peace.

The prime minister will in effect endorse Sir Ken's approach today, in

a speech likely to antagonise more traditionalist members of the trade

union movement.

A draft of his speech to the TUC this afternoon says: "It is absurd to

suggest that supporting business means somehow we don't support

employees . . . Let me spell it out - in backing business we are

supporting employees and employment."

Sir Ken intends to propose a programme for radical reform. He believes

that if the unions are serious about their commitment to partnership

with business they need to discuss major issues with company

executives and resolve differences and swap opinions. He suggests a

joint biennial conference between the TUC and CBI.

Sir Ken will also call today for the creation of a "strike free future

for industry".

But he will oppose any suggestion that the unions should break their

link with the Labour party.

However, last night Ken Cameron, general secretary of the Fire

Brigades Union, said separation "could benefit everyone". "We can no

longer rely on them to be our natural allies," he said.

Earlier this year his union voted to use its political fund for

campaigning for its members and not automatically finance the Labour

party.

-- Peter van Heusden : pvanheus at hgmp.mrc.ac.uk : PGP key available 'The demand to give up illusions about the existing state of affairs is the demand to give up a state of affairs which needs illusions.' - Karl Marx



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