Britain’s second-largest trade union, Unite, is urging the new Labour government to introduce an emergency 1% wealth tax on the assets of the super-rich. The proposed tax would be applied to individuals with assets exceeding £4 million, with the aim of raising £25 billion annually to fund 10% pay rises for public sector workers and fill more than 100,000 NHS vacancies.
The demand from Unite is one of several motions to be presented at the upcoming Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Brighton next month. These motions are expected to expose tensions between Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and sections of the union movement, particularly as Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares for her first budget on 30 October.
Labour MPs and ministers anticipate that the TUC conference could mark the beginning of a breakdown in the effective truce between many unions and Labour, which had helped Starmer’s general election campaign. The government is likely to emphasise its commitment to fiscal responsibility and the need for difficult decisions to restore the economy’s health.
Other key trade unions are also preparing to press for policy changes from Labour, such as abandoning the two-child benefit cap and reversing the recent decision to end winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners. While Reeves is reportedly considering increases in capital gains and inheritance taxes in the budget, Unite’s motion goes much further, arguing that an immediate boost to public investment cannot wait for economic growth to materialise at an unspecified point in the future.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, stated, “The British economy is broken. Due to decades of underinvestment in manufacturing and national infrastructure, we are now falling disastrously behind other countries in the new technological age and the transition to net zero. We need serious investment in our crippled public services and in industry to ensure a prosperous future for Britain’s workers and their communities.”
The TUC is also expected to press for “pay restoration” to compensate for a decade of real-terms salary cuts for public sector workers. These demands will likely add to the strains between Labour and its union backers, following a series of pay deals between the Starmer-led government and striking workers in various sectors, including healthcare and railways.
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