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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.
(5)
We call on the GFTU in partnership with affilates to:
•
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.
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:
•
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.
Implementation
The General Secretary has highlighted
this issue in a number of articles in
the national press.
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.