Unions and the Labour Party for Women - Kiri Tunks
This blog is based on a speech made by Kiri Tunks on behalf of the FiLiA Trade Union Project at a Labour Women’s Declaration fringe at the 2024 Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.
Let’s take a moment.
Let’s reflect on what Labour Women’s Declaration (LWD) has achieved.
Think back to where we were when we started.
Remember what we have faced and what we have overcome.
Look at us now.
I want to congratulate the LWD team for an amazing operation at Labour Party Conference this year.
It is fabulous to have to great women MPs on the LWD panel tonight speaking up for women, but I want to pay tribute to the other brave women who have paved the way in hostile times: Rosie Duffield, Tonia Antoniazzi, Diana Johnson, Marsha de Cordova and Johann Lamont to name a few.
The Labour Party may not quite be in the place we want it to be on women’s sex-based rights but we are getting there – and it’s a far better place than it was.
And the reason for that?
The collective energy, principled determination and relentless organising of Labour Women’s Declaration.
They have modelled what can be achieved when women come together and organise.
They are an inspiration.
Now we all know that the fight for women’s rights is far from over. We know the litany of wrongs women face in all aspects of our lives. We have heard about some of them tonight.
But we have also heard from the speakers what needs to be done.
And doing that means being present in every part of this movement:
In our CLPs
In our union branches
In our policy-making bodies
In our conferences
All the systems and the structures that have failed us must be made to work for us. And this is work that we must take on because they will not change if we do not.
It is understandable that many women, faced with obstruction or abuse, have become disillusioned with the movement. The fight over sex and gender aside, sexism and misogyny abound.
Women have been let down by organisations supposed to represent us.
We have been ignored.
We have been attacked.
We have been demonised.
But we are still here because this is our party and this is our movement.
And we refuse to be expelled.
We know many women, in particular, feel let down by their unions. There have been calls by some to establish a union for women.
But unions remain a powerful force, and women make up the majority of the membership. Any new union would find it hard to replicate the organising infrastructure or to tempt women away from this workplace representation. And established unions will continue to function and make decisions for us, whether we are in them or not.
And unions do make a positive difference to women’s lives. Women in unions have better pay and better working conditions than women who are not. Unions produce and promote a wealth of advice and resources addressing issues of key concern to women.
For example my own union, the National Education Union (NEU), has excellent materials on challenging sexism and sexual harassment in schools, produced in conjunction with UK Feminista. Transport unions have campaigns for safer transport. Lots of unions have workplace toolkits on domestic violence and the menopause.
But there is no question that unions need to do much better for women.
Which is why FiLiA commissioned research to see what actions for women are prioritised, for and by women in the unions, and if they align with FiLiA’s objectives.
It is clear that they do. Motions brought to Trade Union Congress (TUC) conferences over the past five years show women activists are working hard to win change for women (including challenging sexism and misogyny in unions themselves). Priorities align closely with concerns of the women’s liberation movement – sexual harassment, social care, austerity, healthcare, public services, violence against women and girls. One quarter of all motions surveyed explicitly addressed sexual harassment and violence against women.
Historically, unions have won real gains for women. They have made a huge difference in the material quality of our lives. But they must do more.
This is a movement that needs women at its heart – and at its head.
Proper engagement and proportionate representation of women in positions of power and agency would not only change unions for the better. This would give us more power to transform our society.
FiLiA wants to strengthen the hands of women already active in unions. We want to support women to become active and powerful. In the coming months, we will be looking at the best ways to do that.
We want you to be part of that. If you are in a union, what can we do to help you increase your presence and power? Let FiLiA know. Info@filia.org.uk
If you are not in a union, please join!
Winning real change in unions cannot be done from the top down. It must be done, like Labour Women’s Declaration have demonstrated, by collective grassroots organising.
This means being a member, knowing the rule book, navigating the protocols and systems, tabling issues for debate and being part of the debate, working with others to promote our concerns and ideas and, most importantly, not relinquishing our rightful place in this movement.
Labour Women’s Declaration have shown what can be achieved by groups of determined women within hostile structures.
Let’s take their model into our union and into our workplaces.
Let’s win the actions called for by the speakers on this panel.
Let’s work together to win the changes that we know will transform, not only the lives of women and girls, but the society in which we live.
Kiri Tunks
Labour Women’s Declaration held two fringes at the 2024 Labour Party Conference. Recordings are available here:
LWD Unions and a Labour Movement for Women Jess Phillips MP, Tracy Gilbert MP, Dr Sara Beis (Women’s Budget Group), Selma Taha (Southall Black Sisters), Kiri Tunks (FiLiA Trade Union Project), Ann Henderson (Chair)
LWD ‒ Where Next? Reem Alsalem (UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences), Sonia Sodha (Chief leader writer, The Observer) Dr Anna Hutchinson (Clinical psychologist)