EC Meeting March 2017

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Implementation The General Secretary has highlighted this issue in a number of articles in the national press.

Resolution 18

Black Youth Unemployment

(1) Half UK's young Black men are out of work. This was the headline on the front page of the Guardian Saturday 10 March 2012. If you are White you have more chance of becoming employed, if you are Black you have less chance of being employed. This claim has continued with the Department of Work and Pensions in January 2014 declaring that BAEM communities (Black, Asian & Ethnic Minority) unemployment was 12% while it was 6% for White communities. (2) For those who fight for justice and equality this comes as no surprise. It is obviously a problem as authorities and organisations don’t talk about it because if they did they would have to act. The Conservative led Coalition Government fails to recognise this as a national crisis even though all data, facts and statistics available clearly show that Black young people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts. (3) There are more than three quarters of a million young people unemployed in the UK. It is time to act. We cannot stand by and watch the potential of thousands condemned to the scrap heap. Shame on this Conservative led CoalitionGovernment if it is prepared to watch young black people languish in misery and no hope ... a generation condemned to a future of worklessness!

(4) We must take action now to stop the indefensible levels of unemployment of young black people.

We call on the GFTU in partnership with affilates to:

(5)

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To demand that the Government urgently sets up a Taskforce made up of Community Representatives, Trade Union Leaders, Faith Leaders, to consult with young black people, voluntary sector, community and faith organisations, etc to produce recommendations to address the alarmingly high unemployment rates. Urge the Trade Union movement to come together to organise a National Conference, made up of young people, Politicians, Police, Public Sector Leaders, Youth Forums, Business Leaders, etc, to urgently consider and develop strategies to create employment opportunities for all young people. Lobby MPs and Local Councillors to develop local strategies with the private and public sectors to urgently address the problem of high employment rates of all young people with a particular focus on tackling the disproportionate impact of unemployment of Black and Asian young people.

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Extensive campaigning throughout the Movement did not prevent the Trade Union Act from reaching the statute books. The GFTU has supported all those politicians and organisations seeking a repeal of the Act and a positive new framework of employment and trade union legislation. The General Secretary has responded to a number of consultation documents. The GFTU Is supporting an extensive section of its new education programme on trade unions and the law.

Resolution 19

Employment Rights & Trade Union Freedoms

(1) Conference is appalled at the continuing and sustained attack on collective and individual employment rights and trade union freedoms by the present government.

(2)

This has included:

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Increasing the qualification period to claim unfair dismissal Undermining the health and safety protection for workers

Introducing fees for employment tribunals

Attacks on trade union facility time, check off and collective bargaining in the public sector

Reducing working rights for people in SMEs

Cutting the consultation period for large scale redundancies Limiting the amount of compensation employees can receive for unfair dismissal Weakening TUPE legislation that protects employees transferred fromone mployer to another.

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