Tuesday 9 September 2014

Greens strengthening links with trade unions

Saturday, 6 September 2014 from http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/


Greens strengthening links with trade unions

The NUT, RMT and PCS trade unions all have stalls at the Green Party conference
this weekend. Max Hyde, President of the NUT , spoke at a fringe meeting organised by
the Union today, with Natalie Bennett  and Richard Hatcher guest speakers.

With the NUT's manifesto for  children's education 'Stand Up for Education' distributed,
hot off the presses to a packed room, it soon became clear that the NUT and Green Party
have much in common on education policies.

Both want an end to 'sausage factory' schooling and the dominance of testing, every teacher
to be qualified,  restoration of LA powers to build new schools, an end to the fragmenting of
the education system, halt to privatisation of education  and are opposed to performance
related pay.

Tomorrow there will be a PCS speaker at a fringe on fuel poverty, the Big SIx power companies,
and fracking.

There is an active Green Party Trade Union Group and a Trade Union Liaison Officer post was
created last year. Both are busy building  links not just with national leaders of the unions but with
 rank and file members.

The  policies of the Labour Party increasingly appear insipid in contrast to the strong anti-austerity
social justice stance of the Greens.

I hope that our links and solidarity with trade unions will continue to strengthen ahead of the General
election. As Max Hyde and Natalie Bennett both said, we won't agree on everything, but we are allies
in the struggle.

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