AS THE chaos of Brexit leaves us unsure about what the future holds for workers in Britain, we can be confident of one thing. 

Whether we leave the EU with the current deal or with no deal, workers’ jobs and rights are at real risk, both within the region and across Britain.

The news that Honda has decided to close its only British factory in Swindon has devastated both workers and the community. 

It’s also sent serious warning signs to other regions, like north-east England, to which the manufacturing industry is vital.

Aside from the uncertainty of Brexit, public services and public-sector workers continue to deal with the brutal legacy of austerity. 

The NHS has the worst accident and emergency waiting times on record. Schools are at breaking point. We’ve lost 21,000 police officers, 1,000 children’s centres and over 3,000 bus routes. Public-sector workers are still not receiving the pay they deserve.

And unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent Spring Statement offered no hope and the recently announced Stronger Towns Fund will do very little to repair the damage caused by years of cuts and underinvestment in north-east England, let alone protect the region from the economic implications of Brexit.

In addition to economic insecurity, hundreds of workers across the region face job insecurity. Bogus self-employment, poor pay, zero-hours contracts, multiple employment and blacklisting continue, with north-east England regularly being highlighted as a hotspot for some of these issues. 

The trade union movement has achieved a lot over the last year, both regionally and nationally, but with such an insecure and uncertain future, there are undoubtedly more challenges ahead.

It is against this backdrop that the Northern TUC‘s annual conference will debate a range of issues.

At the Northern TUC we pride ourselves on proportionate representation in our regional council, executive committee and other democratic structures. We welcome a diverse range of voices, backgrounds and opinions — it reflects the richness and diversity I love so much about our movement.

We will look back on our achievements over the past year, including our contributions to regional strategic priorities and the good work of our lay representative-led working groups and forums.

TUC Northern co-ordinates the regional Better Health at Work Award and this year it’s our 10th anniversary. 

The award was created to help tackle and reduce the region’s long-standing health issues and inequalities, with over 400 employers signed up to this programme and a direct reach of over 230,000 workers taking part in health campaigns. 

As part of this year’s celebrations we have produced a short video to showcase the benefits of the award for those involved.

One hundred and thirty delegates from 20 unions will attend our regional conference. The agenda and motions for policy and action that have been put forward by our unions make some important contributions as to how we might address some of these big issues and questions.

The Public and Commercial Services Union has submitted a motion that resolves to continue the campaign for the reversal of all anti-trade union legislation and demand the government implement the full recommendations of the Knight review and to trial electronic balloting in industrial action ballots.

I am delighted that the Artists Unions England will be debating their first motion to our regional conference and will be calling for an increase in access to culture for those who experience social and economic disadvantage and unite concerns of workers in the culture sector who often face precarious working conditions.

Public service union Unison will be leading on the debate to support the continued funding of and engagement with the anti-racism education charity Show Racism the Red Card — a very timely intervention given the rise of the far-right, abhorrent displays of racism at a recent England football game and the week that Conservative-led Northumberland County Council has withdrawn funding for the charity in its county.

The Unite period dignity campaign has gained traction in the region and will be supported at conference. Its motion calls on unions to include period dignity on the bargaining agenda, work with education unions to raise awareness in schools, embed the campaign into the trade union education programme and to develop a parliamentary petition calling for the removal of value added tax (VAT) from sanitary products. VAT was removed from women’s sanitary products by Labour, but restored by the Tories.

We will further debate today the impact of this government on public services, public-sector employment, the rail and maritime industries, ideas on developing a low carbon-industrial region, the national curriculum, funding cuts to education and those with special educational needs and the wider economy. 

We are pleased to announce that our speakers this year include Jamie Driscoll, Labour’s candidate for North of Tyne mayor and Laura Pidcock, MP for North West Durham, and shadow minister for business, energy and industrial strategy.

Across all areas of the public sector and in all parts of the region, trade unions and the Public Service Alliance have been, and remain, at the forefront of challenging austerity, articulating the real impact of the cuts to the lives of working people and their families — presenting a credible alternative — and with some success.

While we may not change the minds of the ideologues in the Cabinet, we have been smashing their economic arguments and turning public opinion.