Composing motions 32 and 33
Congress notes the vital work of the Right to Food Commission in developing a comprehensive roadmap to end food poverty across the UK by 2035.
Congress recognises that, in one of the world’s wealthiest economies, millions of people continue to experience food insecurity, including many in work. No worker should be forced to choose between heating their home, paying their bills or putting food on the table.
Congress believes the trade union movement has a central role to play in making the right to food a reality by campaigning for policies that address the root causes of food poverty through decent work, fair wages, strong social security and universal access to affordable, nutritious food.
Congress notes that:
i. evidence from the Covid-19 pandemic shows England’s Public Health Nutrition (PHN) system is underfunded, fragmented and unable to meet need, as reported by frontline staff
ii. austerity and market-based policies have weakened PHN services, increasing hunger, worsening nutrition related health and widening inequalities
iii. eighty-seven per cent of PHN professionals reported that austerity related cuts had severe, or moderate to severe, impacts (Noonan-Gunning et al, 2021)
iv. responsibility for food security has shifted from the state to the voluntary sector and unpaid labour, creating a postcode lottery and exposing system failures during the pandemic that impact wider determinants of health
v. the lack of a national food strategy and effective governance undermined the response to Covid-19 and risks weakening future responses.
Congress believes that:
a. food and nutrition security is a fundamental right and a core responsibility of the state
b. charity cannot replace a properly funded public system
c. a paid, skilled PHN and public health dietetics workforce is essential to public health and social justice.
Congress calls upon the TUC to:
1. promote the right to food as a core trade union issue and support affiliates in embedding this work within organising, bargaining and political campaigning.
2. equip workplace representatives with the knowledge and confidence to explain the Commission’s recommendations and the five pillars of the Right to Food framework, enabling them to organise, educate and campaign in workplaces and communities
3. work with the commissioners and affiliated unions to develop accessible education and campaigning resources, including online learning similar to the TUC’s Employment Rights Act programme
Congress calls on the TUC to campaign for:
I. the right to food to be enshrined in UK law
II. the implementation of the Right to Food Commission’s recommendations and roadmap to end food poverty by 2035
III. restoration and ringfencing of PHN funding by central government
IV. a national food and nutrition strategy, including workforce capacity and capability
V. an end to marketisation and the normalisation of unpaid labour in food provision
VI. secure, unionised employment, training and recognition for food and nutrition workers, including work with affiliates to explore organising in emergency food aid and the community food sector.
Mover: BFAWU
Seconder: BDA