TRADE UNIONISTS are heading to the South West TUC (SWTUC) annual conference and AGM this weekend to participate in an agenda packed full of guest speakers, workshops and motions. We will be debating a range of important topics, including artificial intelligence, the migrant worker visa campaign, the Employment Rights Bill and the Unison motion against the current proposal to privatise community health services in Bath and NE Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

Unison will be speaking to delegates as we ramp up our campaign for Wes Streeting to call in the decision made in October 2024 to hand over community health services to a private healthcare firm affecting 2,000 workers.

HCRG (formerly Virgin Care) are owned by the private equity firm Twenty20 Capital and the contract was awarded without proper consultation and without meeting several legal obligations. This weekend we will be calling on affiliates to sign petitions, lobby councils and make their own submissions to the Secretary of State.

Over the past 12 months, sister unions have been working together under the SWTUC umbrella to collectively organise and campaign on the many issues affecting our members. Last summer Unison stood shoulder to shoulder with our sister unions in the trade union bloc at the counter-demonstrations against the far-right rallies held in our communities.

Our fight back continues with the SWTUC establishing a working group to combat the far right and the rise of Reform, which includes a guide to support trade union activists to tackle difficult conversations in workplaces. It is our movement’s long-held tradition to oppose such fundamental far-right views that operate against the interests of the working class and Unison commends the programme of work undertaken by the SWTUC.

After 14 years of growing inequality, the working class have had enough, and they want change. That change cannot be the populist right-wing division offered by Reform, but to stop them Labour must turn things around quickly. Unison has never supported the tight fiscal rules Labour set for itself as ordinary working people can’t afford to pay more tax, but there are plenty who can. We call on the Labour government to introduce a wealth tax, a tax that would increase investment in public services while reducing inequality.

There is some good news and over the weekend we will discuss the progress made by the Labour government on the Employment Rights Bill, a Bill which will positively impact the lives of working people, particularly women, many of who are low-paid. Around 80 per cent of Unison members are women, often working in low-paid and precarious work.

The removal of exploitative zero-hour contracts, the introduction of day-one sick pay and affording trade unions access to workplaces all provide a starting point to improve workplace rights. These gains should not be underestimated, and Unison continues to work hard to ensure the Bill becomes law despite the opposition of a Conservative Party being pushed increasingly further right by Reform.

The last 12 months have seen a huge shift in the south west, both in terms of the political landscape and the many challenges trade union members face and Unison is at the forefront of a number of significant campaigns. As we go to press Unison’s migrant worker visa and sponsorship campaign deepens and we are keen that affiliates join with us to effect real change for our members facing such exploitation.

The current system creates a huge imbalance of power by tying workers to a specific employer. A recent survey of Unison migrant worker members evidenced the abuse of that power and the hostile environment created for migrant workers delivering British social care.

Unison is calling for a new visa scheme that would be overseen by a public-sector body and enable migrant workers to move employers — as a basic right — without fear of retribution, deportation, or crippling repayment charges. Unison is running a workshop at this weekend’s conference to enable other affiliates to learn more about Unison’s campaign and get involved.

In closing, I note that a week after International Women’s Day and 50 years since a Labour government introduced the Equal Pay Act, there is still a pay gap between men and women and sexual harassment and misogyny are on the rise.

This deep misogyny is driven on globally by the likes of Trump and Musk and we know we have much to do in the pursuit of a fairer and more just world and that work starts in our movement. We must stamp out all unequal treatment and unite as a class, empowering all members to campaign collectively for a better world and that work continues in Croyde Bay, north Devon, this weekend.

Kerry Baigent is regional secretary for Unison South West.