March 26th

What an inspiratlional event! An amazing display of unity and solidarity from such a diverse range of people. The march really did represent the breadth of opposition to the ConDem government - people from all different walks of life, from all over the country coming together to say NO to cuts.

The task now is to build the movement - in terms of breadth and depth. These cuts will affect everyone but they wont be defeated by marching alone. We need to build genuine mass support for further action, including direct action and, crucially, co-ordinated industrial action.

Anyway, today is an excellent 1st step...

President's Address, 2011

Introduction

The past year has been a difficult year for the trades union movement and working people as a whole.  The year began with calls for savage cuts from all sides of the political spectrum.  The major political parties, driven on by the media, competed to sound tougher on public spending, and a range of cuts to jobs, pensions and public services were proposed as solutions to the economic crisis.

This hysteria continued to build in the run up to the 2010 General Election, which saw the election of a parliament with no overall control but with the Conservative Party holding the largest number of seats.  There were victories for working people with the demolition of the BNP vote in Barking and Dagenham and elsewhere, but these were exceptions to the rule and the result of significant local mobilisations.  The picture across the country was fairly grim as Conservatives and Liberal Democrats united to form a coalition government ideologically committed to a cuts agenda which would have a drastic impact on the British economy and the standard of living of working people.

In this context, Oxford & District Trades Union Council has worked hard to defend and promote the interests of affiliated members, working with our affiliated branches, launching a number of specific initiatives and working as part of broader alliances to build resistance to government cuts and develop the fightback.

Campaigning against Cuts & Privatisation

The Trades Council was instrumental in the formation of the Oxford Campaign for the People's Charter at the end of 2009, organising a local launch for the charter, which proposes a radical economic alternative to cuts.  This work continued throughout 2010 and, as the year progressed, we also gave our support to events organised by the Oxford Right to Work campaign and Oxford Save Our Services, as well as the national Coalition of Resistance.  This was alongside our ongoing commitment to existing campaigns such as Keep Our NHS Public.

In early September, the Trades Council wrote to all the anti-cuts groups we were working with and proposed a joint meeting to co-ordinate local anti-cuts activity.  Out of this, Oxfordshire Anti-Cuts Alliance was developed as a united movement bringing together trades unions, local campaigns and community organisations to oppose the cuts.  The alliance has held a series of high-profile local events, including a day of action on the day of the Comprehensive Spending Review, the largest local march since the opposition to the bombing of Iraq, and a highly successful meeting on library closures with Philip Pullman, which was so well attended we had to turn some people away.

The Alliance continues to be very active with library read-ins, a public meeting on the youth service, a local demonstration and a lobby of the County council budget meeting planned this month.

The trades council is also working closely with Oxfordshire Anti-Cuts Alliance to build for the TUC 'March for the Alternative' on 26th March.

Anti-Academies Campaigning

During the first part of the year, the Trades Council played an important role in the Save Oxford School campaign.  This was a community campaign, with the involvement of parents, trades unions and residents of East Oxford, to save Oxford School from closure and replacement with a private academy.  This campaign, whilst ultimately unsuccessful, brought together large numbers of people for a series of significant discussions about state education.

Following, the publication of the academies bill in the summer, the Trades Council worked together with NUT, NASUWT and Unison to put on a briefing for staff and governors on the implications of the bill and the impact academy status would have on individual schools.  This will be an important area for onging camapign work over the next few months.

Affiliations

Oxford & District Trades Union Council has received a number of new affiliations throughout the year and our affiliated membership has increased by over 7,500 members to around 20,000.  This growth reflects the difficult political climate and the need of unions to work together but it also reflects the pro-active campaigning work undertaken by the Trades Council.  We can be confident that we represent the vast majority of unionised workers in Oxfordshire.  The task now will be to work with our affiliated branches to increase trades union membership as a whole locally.

Solidarity Work

Oxford & District Trades Union Council is proud to support a number of local solidarity camapaigns including Oxford Cuba Solidarity, Oxford Palestine Solidarity and Oxford Venezuela Solidarity.  Our banner has regularly been carried on local demonstrations in solidarity with Palestinian people and against the blockade of Gaza.  This is an area of work we could look to develop over the coming year, particularly in terms of supporting and developing the international links of our affiliated branches.

Press & Publicity

Following our last AGM, in the run up to the General Election, the Trades Council produced the first ever edition of our own newspaper, Union Matters.  Around twelve thousand copies were distributed through local union branches.  This was followed in December with an anti-cuts issue which was distributed through union branches and at demonstrations.  We have had excellent feedback on both issues from our affiliated branches, who contributed the bulk of the copy and the newspaper looks set to be a regular publication.

During the year, we also agreed to adopt a more pro-active press strategy and the presidential team were given responsibility for press and publicity on behalf of the Trades Council.  ODTUC now appears regularly in the local papers and has had several appearances on local radio and TV.  We have also been able to promote the various campaigns we are involved with.

The Future

Oxford & District Trades Union Council is entering into an uncertain political future.  We face an onslaught from the most extreme, anti-working class government this country has seen for decades.  However, we are also witnessing the growth of what may be the broadest, most diverse and yet united movement of resistance this country has ever seen.  The Trades Council goes forward re-invigorated, better equipped to face the challenges before us and ready to take up the fight for working class people across Oxfordshire, in solidarity with our sisters and brothers across the world.

We are fully committed to standing up for the interests of the working class, to defend and extend their rights, and we call on all those who agree with our aims to join us in this fight.