Let the unions do their proper jobs

THE present state of trade union law has ‘evolved’ in my time, as largely imposed by Tory governments, to a level where the unions are constrained in ways to limit their powers.

The Thatcher campaign on the miners’ union has left a legacy of resentment in most of the unions still here, hardly to the benefit of the UK’s workforce, and of the UK.

Ian Johnson’s letter told us only 20% of this workforce was in the Trades Union Congress, thanks to “slavish” policies of employing people from outside the UK.

As the present practices of zero-hours employment at levels of pay most of us would not be able to live on, and cutting of services, this resentment will only cause the reasons why so-called illegal strikes are considered.

In a great deal of British industries and services, they would collapse if overseas workers did not fill the jobs.

The health and care services in particular employ European and worldwide staff, from cleaning staff up to senior consultant medical levels.

What may be a stark indicator of ‘cuts’ is the Whitley Bay job-finding office of the DWP has closed, with DWP job finders all over the country having themselves to ‘find’ another job, somewhere.

I think Len McCluskey and his like know only too well what a dole office is, and indeed if such are being closed down, the services to be made available by ‘other means.’

I speak from a position of having retired over 20 years ago, and being able to meet my payments (and paying my taxes), from a modest income.

Trade unionists have in my working experience always been confronted by the profiteering employer, and policies of governments.

Today we have global industries largely in the control of overseas owners.

The use of the word “slavish” takes a bit of beating, when unions have worked to achieve a fair income for a worker’s labour, within a civilised level of employer consideration.

AM JOHNSON, Cullercoats