Campaign For Trade Union Freedom at Tolpuddle 2025
Finishing the Job: Forward To The Employment Rights #2 Bill
Saturday, 19th July – Fringe Marquee (wristband essential) at 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm
Speakers:
Eddie Dempsey – General Secretary, RMT
Professor Keith Ewing – Campaign for Trade Union Freedom
Fran Heathcote – General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union
Neil Duncan Jordan – Labour MP for Poole
Sarah Woolley – General Secretary, Bakers’ Food & Allied Workers’ Union
Chair: Steve Preddy – Unite South West Regional Secretary
This is expected to be ‘full house’ event so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
ITUC Global Rights Index 2025 – Workers’ rights collapse across the world

“The 2025 ITUC Global Rights Index exposes the outcomes of the betrayal of the system built after World War Two, founded on democracy, trade union rights and justice” said ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle. “Governments have collaborated in decades of deregulation, neoliberalism, and neglect, leading to the collapse of workers’ rights. This has disenfranchised millions and paved the way for extremism, authoritarianism and the billionaire coup against democracy that now threatens democracy itself.
Employment Rights Bill – Suggested Amendments: write to your union
The Employment Rights Bill is now being discussed in the House of Lords. The Bill as it currently stands offers the promise of much needed gains for working people. But, with a few tweaks, the Bill could offer so much more.
Lord John Hendy KC has been diligently drafting a limited number of amendments in an attempt to improve the Bill on issues of importance to the trade union movement. The debate in the Lords is due to continue on 3rd, 5th and 10th June – so time is short!
Below is a list of the topics covered by Lord Hendy’s amendments. Many unions work closely with parliamentary representatives in both the Commons and the Lords. It would be extremely helpful and much appreciated if union members and CTUF supporters could forward this list to your union or your amended version of the list – expressing your support.
Details of the amendments will of course be available to members of the Lords – they are extensive so circulating this with the amendment numbers and the subject matters would be helpful.
Please note the following amendments as follows:
- 143 to permit injunction to prevent breach of s.188 collective redundancy requirements;
- 152-173, 176-179 to convert school support staff negotiating body into proper collective bargaining;
- 181-187, 191, 193-4, 197-199 to convert adult social care negotiating body into proper collective bargaining;
- 203 to provide a mechanism to introduce sectoral collective bargaining into any sector of the economy;
- 214 to permit injunction to compel union access if ordered by CAC;
- 238 to provide a positive right to strike;
- 239 to make it lawful to strike over dismissal of unofficial strikers;
- 240 to permit secondary action;
- 241 to permit strikes to gain recognition;
- 242 to omit obligation to give notice of ballot to employers;
- 243 to omit the distinction between separate and aggregated ballots;
- 249 to omit obligation to provide postal notice of ballot result to members and employer;
- 251 to simplify notice of strike to bare minimum;
- 253 to return the right to strike to the POA;
- 257 to return the obligation to promote collective bargaining to ACAS;
- 260 SoS to formulate action plan to achieve 80% collective bargaining coverage, as in EU.