Unions – A Voice for Social Change and Fairness:

Congress notes that the trade union movement will continue to develop strategies and policies which will ensure that the union movement is the leading voice for social change in Ireland, thus providing alternative analyses and solutions to those being propagated by the champions of the failed captains of the financial sector, the crony capitalists and spectators. At no time in recent history has there been such a greater need for real leadership and radical trade union alternatives based on the principles of equality, justice and liberty. Our challenge in the trade union movement is to strengthen our organisation base so as to recruit, organise and mobilise workers and their families for social, economic and political change. Recognising that no one individual union can sustain the resources demanded to successfully prosecute and sustain an effective recruitment and organising campaign it is therefore imperative that unions begin to develop co-operative working arrangements including joint funding and implementation of well researched, resourced and executed recruitment and organising campaigns in employments and sectors in which those unions have an interest. These campaigns to include, where appropriate, the further development of leverage strategies such as the Fair Hotels initiative. In tandem, Congress is requested to continue vigorously its campaign to secure collective bargaining rights for trade union members and protection against victimisation of trade union activists.