“Our movement must hold Labour to account & demand the transformative change that was promised. Because if this government won’t deliver for working-class people, then the labour movement must step up & lead the way ourselves.”
By Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, BFAWU
As trade unionists gather for the TUC and Labour Party conferences this year, one message must ring out loud and clear: we have had more than enough of austerity. It has devastated lives, wrecked communities, and left working-class people bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not create. For the members of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the damage has been real, personal, and ongoing.
Our members keep this country running—producing the food we eat, working through the pandemic, and often doing so for poverty pay in harsh conditions. Yet they are among the hardest hit by austerity. For over a decade, successive governments have slashed public services, frozen pay, and gutted social security. The result? BFAWU members are struggling to heat their homes, feed their families, and find any sense of security in their working and personal lives.
We hear the same stories across our union: workers skipping meals so their kids can eat, working back-to-back shifts just to cover rising energy bills, and living in cold, damp homes while the cost of living soars. This isn’t just financial hardship. This is everyday crisis, created by deliberate political choices.
And it’s not only workers who suffer. Austerity has ripped the heart out of communities. Mental health services are overstretched or non-existent. Youth centres, libraries and community hubs have been shut down. Bus routes have disappeared. Councils are starved of funding, with many now barely able to deliver basic services. When the social fabric unravels like this, it’s no surprise that people feel abandoned.
In that void, the far right has started to grow. They offer scapegoats—migrants, minorities, ‘woke culture’—instead of real answers. They feed off despair, division, and distrust in politics. And while working-class communities struggle, billionaires get richer. Corporations post record profits while foodbank use hits record highs. We cannot allow the far right to fill the space that should belong to us—the trade union movement. If we do not offer an alternative, someone else will.
That alternative must be bold, hopeful, and rooted in solidarity. We must show that a better life is not just possible—it is necessary. And unions are the key to building it.
Imagine a country where no one has to choose between food and fuel. Where every worker, regardless of age, earns at least £15 an hour. Where zero-hour contracts are a thing of the past, and all workers have guaranteed hours, dignity, and stability. Where full sick pay from day one is a right, not a luxury. Where if you’re unwell, you can recover without facing destitution.
Picture communities where youth centres and mental health services are properly funded. Where councils have the resources to care for the vulnerable, keep the streets clean, and build local economies that work for everyone. Where the NHS and our schools are no longer on the brink, but thriving, well-resourced, and public to the core.
This isn’t a dream. It’s what happens when we end austerity and put working-class people first. But we won’t get there by waiting. We need a fighting labour movement—unions organising in workplaces and communities, building power from the ground up, and demanding change.
At BFAWU, we’ve seen the power of that collective action. From our fast-food campaigns to supporting members facing fire-and-rehire, we know that when workers stand together, we win. But we also know our struggles are connected to wider political choices. That’s why we stand against austerity. That’s why we fight for a new economic model—one based on equality, public ownership, redistribution and climate justice.
As Labour prepares to address the trade union movement at these conferences, it does so not as a party waiting in the wings—but as the party in government. Yet after twelve months in office, working-class people are still waiting for real change.
The minimum wage is still too low. Zero-hour contracts continue to trap workers in insecurity. The NHS and our public services remain under strain. There has been no reversal of austerity—only continuity. For our members and their communities, that means another year of choosing between heating and eating, another year of hard work without dignity or reward.
Worse still, we’ve seen Labour double down on punitive welfare rhetoric—promising more sanctions and continuing the demonisation of people who rely on social security. This is deeply disappointing. A decent society doesn’t punish people for being ill, disabled or out of work. It supports them. The working class is not just those in jobs—it’s people on benefits, carers, pensioners, students, the sick and disabled. And they, too, are being failed.
We were promised change. We were promised a government on the side of working-class people. But our communities don’t live off slogans—they need action. They need legislation to end fire-and-rehire, to outlaw zero-hour contracts, to deliver full sick pay and restore the funding our public services desperately need.
This is not a time for caution—it is a time for courage. Our movement must hold Labour to account and demand the transformative change that was promised. Because if this government won’t deliver for working-class people, then the labour movement must step up and lead the way ourselves.
The alternative is clear, and it’s within reach. A country where every worker earns at least £15 an hour, regardless of age. Where no one goes to work sick because they can’t afford not to. Where secure contracts, strong rights and dignity at work are the norm. Where mental health and youth services are properly funded, and our NHS and education system thrive as the backbone of a fair society.
Austerity was always a political choice. So is building a better world. Our message to Labour is simple: the time for excuses is over. Working-class people have waited long enough. Now it’s time to deliver.
- This is part of our Building a Fighting Left hard-copy bulletin, also featuring Apsana Begum, Diane Abbott, BFAWU and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which is out now at https://bit.ly/buildingafightingleft
- BRIGHTON EVENT: Socialist economic policies – the alternative to never-ending cuts. Grand Hotel, Tuesday September 9, 12.30. John McDonnell MP // Rebecca Long Bailey MP // Zita Holbourne, Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts // Andrew Fisher, ‘IPaper’ columnist // Gawain Little, GFTU General Secretary // Sarah Woolley, BFAWU General Secretary // Eddie Dempsey, RMT General Secretary. Register here.
- Sarah Woolley is General Secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union – you can follow her on Twitter/X.
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