Frances O'Grady: Unions vital to strong economy for all

It is not uncommon for trade unions to get a bad press. Some are very keen to paint us as constantly at being at odds with employers and the public.

The truth of the matter, however, is that we work very closely with companies, businesses and public sector employers to improve working conditions and boost staff productivity.

It is a little known fact but each year more than 200,000 people are given training and learning opportunities through their union.

Take the example of Donna Padget, a Unison steward at Leeds City Council. In what is a financially challenging time for local government, Donna is working closely with the council to ensure that staff still have access to training and learning. For some this means acquiring basic literacy skills and for others the chance to gain higher education qualifications.

Thanks to Donna and her fellow union learning reps, wellbeing has increased at work and employees feel more productive and better at their jobs.

She is one of many unsung union heroes that you won’t hear much about in the media, but thanks to her and countless others, people have a better experience at work.

From February 8-14, the TUC is running a special week of activities throughout England and Wales to showcase the great work union members like Donna do. She is by no means alone in making a positive difference.

In Doncaster, the Prison Officers’ Association is working closely with local faith groups to run English language courses for the Nepalese community, many of whom served as Gurkhas in the British Army.

The classes have been a great success with some of the learners in their late 70s still enthusiastic to learn and develop language skills and play a bigger part in local life.

These are not the kind of stories you hear much about in the news or Parliament, but they demonstrate how much unions contribute to the communities they serve.

I wish more politicians would visit these kind of projects before pledging their support for the Trade Union Bill, which we believe is a deliberate attempt to shackle unions.

You don’t have to belong to a union to be affected by the government’s plans. The pay deals unions agree often set the going rate for workers in many industries. And the health and safety precautions they negotiate help keep millions of us safe at work every year – union members and non-union members alike.

But to get a good deal for workers you need power on both sides of the table.

The Government’s proposals are about loading the dice in employers’ favour and penalising those who try and defend their rights.

The power to bargain collectively as a whole workforce over issues like pay has never been more important. Research published over Christmas revealed that richest 10 per cent now own nearly half of the UK’s wealth.

Eight years on from the financial crash, people in Yorkshire are still earning £47 a week less, on average, than before the crisis.

The economy is paying people too little for their hard work, and too much just for sitting on wealth. It is making Britain more and more unequal, with those who are already rich moving even further ahead of the typical family.

This is why we need stronger unions to help people get a fairer share of the cake. Even the International Monetary Fund (hardly known for its radicalism) concedes that the decline of union collective bargaining has increased wage inequality and reduced wages for ordinary people.

We need a recovery based on higher wages in both the public and private sectors, and investment in skills and industry. So that’s why we’re asking people to get together a group of their workmates and colleagues and all join a union. Because negotiating together for higher wages, investment in skills and better relations at work is how we get an economy that delivers for everyone.

Frances O’Grady is general secretary of the TUC.