The
Labour Party must deliver on a series of workplace pledges if it gets a third
term, the TUC has warned.
Speaking
ahead of next week’s TUC conference in Brighton, the congress’s general
secretary Brendan Barber said he hoped Tony Blair would show real "passion
and conviction" for workers rights and equality.
Pledges
affected equality at work, holiday rights and pensions – all agreed at Labour’s
national policy forum earlier this year.
The
forum, which allows the views of union bosses and Labour Party members to be
put directly to ministers, met in July in Warwick
and was hailed by union leaders who said they had agreed a "significant
shift" from the Government.
Barber
said it was important that people remained confident a Labour government would
deliver on the pledges.
"Tony
Blair must demonstrate this doesn’t simply represent a kind of pre-election
stitch-up – it genuinely represents a commitment to a joint programme of work
that’s designed to deliver a better deal for the people of Britain at work and
that’s a key challenge for the prime minister," he said.
Barber
also said concern over the potential loss of jobs in the Civil Service would be
a feature in Brighton.
Next
Tuesday, delegates will be asked to support the campaign during a conference
motion condemning the "massive job cuts" announced by Chancellor
Gordon Brown in his Budget.
