Received from: CWU
Despite the election of a Labour government and the positive first step of the Employment Rights Bill, the trade union movement faces historic challenges and obstacles to growth. It is clear the challenges that working-class people face cannot be resolved without innovative and radical thinking on how the TUC carries out its industrial and political work.
Therefore, Congress agrees that it is time for a top to bottom review of the TUC, including its overall structures, role and purpose in the wider labour movement.
The review will be undertaken through a General Council working group, reflecting the diversity of the members we represent, with a report and recommendations being published to the General Council and voted on at the 2026 TUC Congress.
As a minimum, the review must recommend an enhanced democratic structure for the TUC and therefore, Congress agrees that the recommendations must include:
i. a five-year term for the elected general secretary of the TUC
ii. a deputy general secretary elected for a five-year term
iii. proposals for reform of TUC structures so it is driven by harnessing the power of trade unions and expanding collective rights in every workplace in the UK
iv. a plan to unite and raise the living standards of working-class people, across ethnicity and gender, in response to the changing political landscape and to counter the rise of the far right.
Communication Workers Union