WHEN I came to work for the TUC in 2013 one of the first conversations I had with our general secretary was about the upcoming 150th anniversary of the TUC, and how the north-west could provide a focus for the celebrations of trade unionism.

In June last year, the movement marked that anniversary and in Manchester, a week-long programme of events shone a light on what we have achieved and where we are going next.

As we host our 2019 conference in Southport, we remain committed to winning for workers across the north-west. Our work in the past twelve months should give us encouragement. Across the region we have seen unions mobilising in workplaces and communities, taking industrial action and winning. There would be too many to mention but notable highlights include RMT members at Northern and Merseyrail, McDonald’s workers, hospitality workers winning on tips and NHS workers in Wigan winning on pay.

As the TUC embarks on the next 150 years, these campaigns and disputes demonstrate clearly that unions continue to make a difference for working people. Our agenda for Saturday’s conference sets the challenges for the year ahead to continue doing just that.

Across the region and Britain, unions, communities and politicians are concerned about the impact of universal credit. It is clear to everyone, other than government, that it isn’t working. The message we will expect from conference is that the roll-out must stop before more of our communities are caught up in its devastating impact. As if we need further proof, conference will hear from Ian Byrne about the great work being done by Fans Supporting Foodbanks, with a collection planned from delegates.

In Merseyside, the FBU led and co-ordinated a fantastic example of coalition building, not only winning a reprieve on planned fire station closures but an increase in firefighters and fire engines. With the announcement of planned cuts in Greater Manchester, conference will discuss fire service cuts and how the movement can continue to support those who keep us safe.

We all know that our challenges are not confined to defending what we have but winning for more workers too. Over 430,000 North West workers are in insecure work and conference will discuss how we can tackle that, particularly for those in parts of the economy where trade union density is low. Conference will redouble its commitment to ensuring the spread of collective bargaining and democracy in the workplace, as the ILO enter its centenary year.

We will also discuss how we can drive up standards across the region for workers. Since the election of Metro-Mayors in Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, the TUC has been working with them on the establishment of employment charters. We have recently seen the launch of the Greater Manchester model and with Liverpool City Region consulting on their version, delegates will be discussing what our expectations are and where it goes next.

The hope is that these charters will provide a minimum set of standards for employers wanting to do business in our region, seeking to uplift workers as opposed to the usual race to the bottom. If we can link these charters to something tangible, like procurement of public contracts, there is a real hope that it can spread our good standards across the public and private sector alike. Devolution presents both challenges and opportunities and unions in the region will be making sure that our voice is heard in these discussions, on behalf of our members.

We’re pleased to welcome Mark Serwotka, TUC president and PCS general secretary, as a guest speaker to conference this year. Mark will no doubt update us on the work being done by the TUC and affiliates to change the world of work for good. One such piece of work is making 2019 the Year of Young Workers and those at conference will be discussing what we need to do to make sure our unions recruit and organise young workers into unions. Doing so is vital to the future of the union movement. The statistics speak for themselves. But instead of worrying about the threats, it is our job to respond to the challenge.

These are just some of the items we will discuss and the issues facing workers in the region. But they illustrate the depth and range of those that we do.

It’s a cliche but is worthy of repeating — it wouldn’t be called the struggle if it was easy. At our conference, unions and the TUC will be there to take up the fight and ensure that we keep making a difference for workers right across our region.

Lynn Collins is TUC North West regional secretary