Motion no: 13
Conference believes that awarding public contracts to anti-trade union companies facilitates and encourages anti-worker behaviour on the part of employers.
By awarding contracts to companies which do not respect the right of staff to collectively bargain the State does not respect the role
of trade unions as stakeholders in a modern society that it otherwise claims to value.
For example, it is concerning that the Department for Communications awarded the contract for delivering the 999 Emergency
Call Answering Service to British Telecom, despite the company’s refusal to recognise the Communications Workers’ Union in the Republic of Ireland while it is prepared to collectively bargain with other unions in the United Kingdom.
Conference instructs the incoming Executive to lead a campaign calling on the State to make it mandatory for companies successfully bidding for public contracts to pay a Living Wage as a minimum, or the recognised union rates where appropriate, and to recognise trade unions for collective bargaining where the staff organise themselves.
