Union members stage demo ahead of Labour winter fuel allowance debate
Union delegates at Labour’s annual conference have staged a noisy protest ahead of a debate on the Government’s controversial decision to cut winter fuel allowance.
Members of Unite gathered outside the conference hall, shouting: “Save the winter fuel”, alongside the union’s general secretary Sharon Graham.
She will address the conference later to urge the Government to reverse its decision.
Wearing a t-shirt bearing the slogan “Save The Winter Fuel”, she said the Prime Minister had made a “mis-step” on cutting the allowance, and should reverse it.
“The Government is picking the pockets of pensioners and people are furious,” she said.
“We will continue to campaign to have the allowance put back into pensioners’ pockets.”
Debate
Unite’s motion calling for the cut to be reversed was due to be debated earlier this week, but was changed to today, the final day of the conference.
Ms Graham said moving the debate was “disrespectful”, adding she was confident of getting support from delegates for the motion, which is being backed by the Communication Workers Union.
CWU officials will not be at the conference on Wednesday as they are attending the funeral in Scotland of the union’s former assistant general secretary Andy Kerr, who used to be on Labour’s national executive.
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Hardly surprising that the vote was pushed onto the ” back burner”!!! Can’t have one of Labour’s biggest backing Unions voicing concern about something that wasn’t even mentioned in the pre-election mandate!! Honeymoon truly over “Things can only get worse”!!!
You can claim that the money saved from pensioner benefits is going to give public sector workers a pay rise, you can claim that it’s to fill the Tory “black hole” or you can equally claim, with massive supporting evidence, that it is going to help compensate for the tax loss caused by a Brexit which a substantial majority, 60% according to Statista, of pensioner voters supported. Former Monetary Policy Committee at Bank of England Michael Saunders said Brexit is to blame for “persistent” and “lasting” damage to the UK economy. He added that “part of the reason that the… Read more »