Unite for a Workers' Economy

Take The Power Back: Renationalise the UK Energy Network

Household energy bills have hit record levels. While millions of energy consumers struggle to pay astronomical bills, the whole energy sector are making eye watering excess profits.

New Unite research has found that public ownership could have saved us all nearly £45 billion in 2022 – over £1,800 per household.

The costs of continuing to leave this critical infrastructure in the hands of profiteers are high. The picture could look very different if the UK had an energy system which functioned to meet our needs, not prioritise profiteering.

Workers and our communities have had enough of rip-off energy prices, and we are fighting back.  Find out more about the campaign to #TakeThePowerBack including the demo in London on Tuesday 20 June 2023. 

Feed the Weans, Feed the Future 

++ DOUBLE WIN++ | Unite for a Workers' Economy's TWO main campaign demands have now been met

• End means-based ‘free’ school meals and provide school dinners for all primary school children – WON! - On 4 May 2023, deputy first minister Shona Robison confirmed that the Scottish government will deliver free school meals for all primary school children, including P6 and P7 pupils by 2024. This was also confirmed by first minister Humza Yousaf at first minister's questions on 11 May.

News updates

• Free school meals for all Scottish primary pupils will go ahead, says deputy FM - BBC News  - May 2023
• Yousaf 'ties himself in knots' over conflicting school meals policy - Herald Scotland - May 2023
• Scottish First Minister's Questions - May 2023
• Good Morning Scotland - BBC Sounds - May 2023

Campaign background

Unite for a Workers Economy in Scotland has partnered with Together Against Debt and the Scottish Trade Union Congress – Women’s Committee to drive change to ensure that no child has to go hungry during the school day, so we can give children the best start in life because hungry children cannot learn.

Our two demands were:

• WON | End means-based ‘free’ school meals and provide school dinners for all children
• WON | Eradicate all school meal debt

Find out more and support the campaign- Feed the Weans, Feed the Future campaign

Systemic corporate profiteering across the economy

A new report from Unite Investigates reveals the profits of the UK’s largest companies are now 89 per cent higher than before the pandemic.

This research looks at where profiteering is happening and how corporations are taking advantage of a crisis to raise their prices. Make no mistake, profiteering has resulted in the high prices we’ve all had to pay. This report is the latest in a series of contribution to Unite’s Profiteering Commission. The aim is simple: To uncover who is really profiting from this crisis.

• Read a short explainer leaflet 
• Click here for a summary of the report 
• Download the full report  

68 is too late | Don't raise the state pension age

Together with the National Pensioners Convention and the Scottish Pensioners Forum, Unite is calling on politicians of all parties to scrap any plans for state pension age rises, now, or in the future.

We must continue until we get a commitment from all major parties that they will not raise the state pension age in the next parliament.

On 2 May 2023 Unite handed in our 37,000-strong petition to the Department for Work and Pensions – however we must continue until we get a commitment from all major parties that they will not raise the state pension age in the next parliament.

Let's drive home our message to parliament: Workers will not be made to pay for decades of politicians' bad choices. We create the wealth in this society, and we deserve a share of that wealth in our old age. Find out more on Unite's 68 is too late campaign.

Social housing tenants are getting organised in Crawley

Social housing residents in Crawley are getting organised, with the support of Unite for a Workers’ Economy.

On 18 April over 40 residents came together to discuss issues on their estate, such as the quality & speed of repairs, the quality of kitchens, rent & service charges, anti-social behaviour, the upkeep of shared areas, communication from their landlord, and mould.

Residents are now coming together and creating an action plan to demand improvements from their landlord. 

• Download the estate newsletter to find out more.

If you can help or get involved then please contact Joshua Berlyne. 

Save Debt Advice 

Debt advice has never been more important as millions of households struggle, yet funding cuts threaten access to this service, and advisers’ jobs. Money is there to increase funding, but government refuses to make businesses pay to fix the problem they helped to create.

Monday 13^th March saw the first day of action in the Unite for a Workers’ Economy campaign to Save Debt Advice with Unite members taking to the streets in London to lobby three government departments to fix the funding crisis.

About the Unite for a Workers’ Economy campaign

From workplace to community, the Unite for a Workers’ Economy campaign is driving a UK-wide strategy to help bring change following the failure of politicians to act. With the aim of collective action, the Union now looks to drive this country’s political agenda instead of commenting on it. This is more than mutual aid. It is the potential for agitation, mobilisation, and for campaigns that organise communities — led by people for the people.

Join Unite as Britain and Ireland’s biggest union focuses on building popular, working-class power to change the system that is rigged against us. 

• From workplace to community, Unite is driving a UK-wide strategy to help bring change following the failure of politicians to act. With the aim of unifying collectivism, the Union will now look to drive this country’s political agenda as opposed to commenting on it.
• Unite is investing in communities that feel alienated by politics and are being left behind by the broken economy and cost of living crisis. Unite is in the community, acting on the concerns of working people instead of telling them what to think. And as working people make their voices heard, we are taking direct action rather than waiting for politicians to save us.
• Unite is upending the status quo by investing in people, not politics. This ground-breaking campaign seeks to organise communities, led by people for the people. We will not stop simply because an election has passed. This long-term work is taking place alongside a groundswell of industrial action from working people who are refusing to accept low wages and attacks to our public services.
• Together, we will put the power back into the hands of working people where it belongs. The ground is there for us to build on, and we’re just getting started

Our economy isn’t working for anyone but the wealthiest people and the biggest corporations. The very workers who kept our nation running throughout the pandemic face a cost of living crisis, while the 1% reap the rewards of our labour. Working people didn’t create this mess, and yet are being called to accept low wages amidst rising prices as corporate executives make record profits. “Our economy isn’t working for workers, only for corporate Britain and its rich backers. It’s time for workers and communities to fight back.” – Sharon Graham.

Workers and community members unite

From workplace to community Unite is driving a UK-wide strategy to help bring change to ‘heartland’ communities following the failure of politicians to act. With the aim of unifying collectivism at the workplace and within local communities, the union will now look to drive the political agenda as opposed to commenting on it. 

This fight is about the workplace, our families, communities and the power of a united working class. We stand with workers taking action and will organise support on the picket lines, we will help mobilise in our communities to equip people to fight back against cuts.

The ground is there for us to build on, and we’re just getting started. Unite for a workers' economy. Join our movement - sign up to the campaign today.

Campaign news and updates

Check out these recent updates and news stories highlighting the Unite for a Workers' Economy campaign in action and join our movement - sign up to the campaign today.

Check out the links for the latest campaign news updates as well as all the news on Unite's wins in the workplace. Join our movement - sign up to the Unite for a Workers' Economy campaign today.

Follow the campaign on social media

Follow the campaign on Facebook: @Unite4WorkersEconomy	Follow the campaign on Twitter: @UniteEconomy
	Our economy isn’t working for ordinary people, only for corporate Britain & its rich backers. It’s time for workers & communities to fight back. It’s time for us to build a movement for change based on a unity of the workplace with local communities - popular working-class power. pic.twitter.com/7M2nJ5G76f — Unite For A Workers' Economy (@UniteEconomy) August 21, 2022
Follow Sharon Graham on Instagram: @UniteSharon	Follow the campaign on Instagram: @Unite4workerseconomy
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sharon Graham (@unitesharon)	View this post on Instagram A post shared by Unite For A Workers' Economy (@unite4workerseconomy)