Mary Senior Assistant Secretary of the STUC spoke to the Glasgow European Forum on Saturday 28 June on ‘Europe Equality and the Unions’ :

Europe, Unions and Equality

Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak at your policy forum today. 

I’ve always been a strong supporter of Europe, and working in  the mid 1990s for Scottish Labour Euro MP Hugh McMahon,  really shaped my belief in a progressive social Europe which works to benefit working people and their families across and within national state boundaries. 

When the UK was experiencing the worst excesses of the Thatcher and Major right wing, libertarian, free market governments, the Labour movement looked to Europe to gain what protection and support for working people that we could.

The Social Europe agenda really flourished in the 1980s and 1990s.  Europe’s institutions created  and implemented strong laws to protect working people against capitalism’s ruthless employers:  Striving to make the workplace fairer and safer:  strengthening rights for working people, promoting equality and tackling discrimination. 

Trade unions in particular, utilised European legislation to defend their members and their jobs.  The Transfer of Under Takings Protection of Employees Directive, TUPE,  was used to protect – the mainly female -  public sector workers’ whose services were outsourced to the private sector,  and to protect workers in industries in takeover or buy out situations.  

For the British Labour movement the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg  was in many instances looked upon as a guardian of the rights of working people in the UK – given the Conservative Government’s ideological opposition to doing anything to interfere with the market – they had absolutely no interest in protecting workers, tackling discrimination or promoting equality.  

In the 1990s the British trade union movement looked with envy to our continental European brothers and sisters who were benefiting from such progressive pieces of legislation as the Working Time Directive,  the Parental Leave Directive, and the Social Chapter.   The UK’s opt out of the Social Chapter and its refusal to sign up to some of the most basis rights on health and safety, working hours, in work rest breaks, minimum annual leave, and rights for parents, today seems bizarre.  These are all pieces of legislation that many of us take for granted.  Even David Cameron supports working parents today.  But it is worth remembering that these were hard won rights, that successive Tory Government’s refused to deliver for the British people.  Their only interest was in delivering vast profits to fat cat bosses at any cost. 

The Labour landslide victory and the advent of the Labour Government in 1997 meant the UK signed up to the Social  Chapter, and British workers began to reap the benefits of the progressive European workplace legislation:

The Blair Government, too, could take the credit for introducing:
A minimum 48 hour working week
Four weeks paid holiday for everyone
In work rest breaks
A national minimum wage
Statutory trade union recognition
The right to time off to care for children.

As the Social Europe agenda continued in the late 1990s, in 2003 British workers received protection against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, and religion and belief.  In 2006 it also became illegal for employers to discriminate against workers on grounds of age.

For me Europe was a real champion of the worker, of the under-represented and dispossessed.    The European Union understood solidarity, pioneered social dialogue, and promoted transnational cooperation.   

The balance of power in Europe during this period – with a strong Socialist Group in the European Parliament ( where the British Labour MEPs were a force to be reckoned with) , along with influential socialist governments in many of the European states such as Spain, France  and Italy – was instrumental in bringing the political will to make Europe’s institutions work for the ordinary working man and woman.

As the UK moved to the left, and elected its first Labour Government in 18 years,  the rest of Europe seemed to shift to the right.     And sadly it wasn’t long before our own Labour Government was pandering to City boardrooms, creating hoops for trade unions to jump through on trade union recognition, failing to effectively challenge the harsh EU competition rules, negotiating working time opt outs, and refusing to give agency workers the same rights as the permanent staff working along side them.

For me a real failure of the Labour Government has been its refusal to build on its early successes of delivering a national minimum wage, paid holidays, and improved maternity and paternity rights.     A failure to do more to address the underlying inequality experienced daily by so many people.

This pandering to business, and obsession with red tape, has, undoubtedly, contributed to the stalling of Social Europe,  and the blocking of key pieces of legislation: such as the Temporary agency workers directive and the Working Time Directive.

The fact that the TUC and the CBI last month managed to get an agreement which gives agency workers equal treatment after 12 weeks is very welcome.  This is a vital piece of law about fairness for the temporary workers who are key to our economy.  The UK has the largest number of temporary agency workers as a proportion of the workforce within the EU, and it is a nonsense that our Government was intent on denying them fairness at work.

The STUC was pleased to meet with our Europe Minister Jim Murphy MP on Thursday of this week, to put many of our concerns at the UK Government’s Eurosceptical, anti-worker, pro-business approach.   

We were absolutely delighted  and very surprised when Jim informed us that the UK Government does not have an opt out of the Lisbon Treaty’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.    There’s been much debate on this controversial Treaty – what it does or doesn’t mean for us.   The STUC regretted the fact that the UK Government didn’t hold a referendum on the Treaty to give people in Scotland and the rest of the UK the opportunity to engage in a meaningful debate on Social Europe.  However, unions were deeply concerned that the UK Government was not signing up to the Charter of Fundamental Rights.   Given the Minister of Europe has put us right on this matter, we are looking forward to his promised correspondence to set out what the UK position on the Charter is.

So the UK Government has helped the stalling of Social Europe, but so have Europe’s Judges.   Recent European Court of Justice decisions  in the Viking, and Laval cases, have upheld the primacy of the market above fundamental workers’ rights to organise and to strike.    The ECJ ruling that to be legitimate strike action has to be proportionate, is already restricting workers’ rights and trade union activity in the UK.

BALPA – the British Airline Pilots Association –  last month withdrew from strike action against British Airways over the outsourcing of BA pilot jobs – which will result in cuts in terms and conditions of pilots  – for fear of BA slapping their potential losses caused by  any strike upon the union.   Clearly this is not where trade unions want to be.   The right to defend workers terms and conditions through collective strike action is fundamental, and one the labour movement must defend.

We must take forward a political campaign which clearly establishes the primacy of workers rights, including rights to collective bargaining, industrial action, equality and pension rights.  We need the politicians to establish the parameters of the law – which Europe’s Judges must operate within.


Europe – through its Social Fund -  has been invaluable to trade unions in enabling them to take forward ground breaking projects which help progress the equality agenda within workplaces and organisations.

During my time at the GMB the union secured EU funding to address domestic abuse from a workplace perspective.    Funding enabled the development of a workplace toolkit and training course for union reps and managers, to enable them to respond to and support colleagues who were experiencing domestic abuse.

The STUC has over the past six years benefited from EU Equal funding.    The Close the Gap partnership - which  supports those affected by the gender pay gap to take actions to close it – received vital support in its first phase from Europe.    Working with transnational partners in Spain, Sweden and the Czech Republic also enabled us to share experiences and best practice.

The One Workplace Equal Rights  – was also an Equal funded project.  This imaginative and challenging project has built capacity within Scottish workplaces to truly tackle discrimination and bargain for equality.

These are just a handful of examples of how trade unions, workers, and other partners in Scotland, and at a European level have been able to work together to challenge discrimination.

Such intervention is still necessary today.  I think some of the criticisms of Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill this week, really underline that we do have a long way to go to achieve the fair and equal society that the labour and trade union movement is striving for.

I agree with Harriet Harman that equality is a matter of principle for us.  It is about creating a society where everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential, where inequality and discrimination is outlawed, and where the skills and abilities of all are fully utilised to the common good.

The lack of understanding on these issues, the failure to recognise the systematic discrimination faced by so many, and the belief that equality means treating everyone exactly the same, really leaves me frustrated and despairing at times. (Question Time on Thursday)

This attitude that we already have equality really must be busted:

In Scotland we still have a gender pay gap where women workers earn 85p an hour for every £1 that a man earns.  And women who work part time earn only a pitiful 65p for every male £1.   
Women and men still find themselves segregated into stereotypical occupations and roles depending upon their gender or ethnicity – along with a value system which places a higher premium on the skills required to deal in shares than the skills required to care for and develop children.
Women still face horrific discrimination  due to pregnancy, part time working is undervalued, and all too many people are struggling to balance their home and working lives.

We have a persistent ethnic penalty in Scottish workplaces. A penalty that today means a black or minority ethnic person with the same skills and qualifications as a white person, is more likely to be unemployed. 
Disabled people face daily discrimination, where they are twice as likely to be unemployed as a non disabled person.
Asian women face multiple discrimination because of their gender, ethnicity, and faith.

Given these facts and figures, we really have to do more to challenge the outrageous Daily Mail agenda.  We also have to explain why treating everyone the same just doesn’t work.

As the French writer Anatole France said: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread,”  highlighting the absurdity of treating everyone just exactly the same.  

We are not all playing on the same level field. 
To address the structural inequality faced by different groups, we have to take positive steps (that may be different for women, or black people, or disabled people) to overcome the systemic barriers and challenge the underlying inequality.    We need laws and practices that recognise this.

And so the STUC welcomed much of UK Government’s Equality Bill as announced this week.  But did express our bitter disappointment that the Government is not legislating for mandatory pay audits, nor is it giving statutory rights to workplace equality reps.

Catherine asked me to say something on the challenges we face from the far right.    And given Thursday night’s Henley By Election results, where the Labour Party lost its deposit and was beaten into 5th place by the British National Party, I think it is high time this Party took a strong stand against racism and fascism, and had a careful re-evaluation on its policies on 42 days detention, on detaining and removing asylum seekers, its harsh points system for economic migrants, and its so called anti terrorism laws.

The Labour Government has pandered far too much to the right wing tabloid journalism agenda in its pursuit of votes in middle England.  If Thursday’s result is not a message of where that gets us I don’t know what is.

To challenge the fascist BNP we have to stand up to prejudice, bigotry and misinformation.   In Scotland the positive Fresh Talent initiative, along with the One Scotland campaign – both instigated by the previous Labour led Executive – have helped to get out positive messages on immigration, race and ethnicity.    Whilst I’m the first to admit that all is not perfect, research by the Scottish Refugee Council, Oxfam and others, has shown that this political leadership from the top, has given Scots a greater understanding of these issues on migration and asylum.

Finally we have to challenge the legitimacy of these fascists.  In Scotland the trade unionists, community and voluntary groups, and all mainstream political parties, have to date, united against the fascist BNP.

The STUC is proud to organise the Annual St Andrew’s Day Anti Racism March and Rally to show Scotland united against racism and fascism. This year is Saturday 29 November 2008.

When the BNP fielded candidates in the Euro Elections in 2004 – we stood together to show them the red card. In the 2005 General Elections when the BNP stood against Mohammed Sarwar in Glasgow Central, all candidates refused to share a platform with the BNP – even the returning officer had to deliver the result from the floor on the SEC.  Last year when the BNP imported candidates from England to qualify for a party political broadcast in the Holyrood Elections, we campaigned outside the BBC, mobilsed the Hope not Hate campaign in Scotland, and held rallies with all political parties to expose the BNP’s bigoted politics.

We have to challenge the racists at every level, we must not stoop to their politics of fear and prejudice, and we should never sit round the table with them.

As a Party and a movement we have difficult times ahead:
Labour can choose the date of the Motherwell and Wishaw By Election, but we cannot choose the date of the Euro Elections.
In Scotland unions and Party can work together to expose SNP failure and incompetence on class sizes, the local income tax and budget cuts.
In Europe we can work together to get the Social Agenda back on the rails.
We need a shift to a positive and bold agenda at UK level which progresses socialist policies on tackling poverty, empowering workers, and challenging inequality.

M Senior June 2008