Workers Advisory Clinic

Reductions in the funding for Citizens Advice Bureau’s and other advisory services has left workers in non-unionised workplaces without adequate access to employment advice and support. Employers are able to breach employment law, behave despicably, particularly against, young, female and disabled employees and get away with it unchallenged.

To protect non-unionised workers, to challenge the worst abuses of employers, to encourage non-unionised workers to join a union, to bring new people into the labour movement, to support our communities, we must pool our resources and expertise to provide advice and where appropriate, representation, through “Workers Advice Clinics”. Workers Advice Clinics would be staffed by volunteers from affiliated trade unions, the NIC - ICTU retired workers committee and Trades Councils. This service would be only for non-unionised workers / workplaces where unions had no presence or were not trying to organise. 

Conference calls on the NIC to:

• Set up a subcommittee of affiliates working with Trades Councils to bring forward a proposal to the NIC, to set up and launch Workers Advisory Clinics, within 6 months of conference.

Conference suggests;

• Affiliates are asked to provide resources being; meeting space, volunteers etc.
• A six month pilot to start, with a workers advisory clinic in /Derry and Belfast