“We can fight for a different set of priorities: wages not weapons, social investment and international solidarity rather than division.”
By Jo Grady
Last year, at TUC Congress in Brighton, the trade union movement made an important choice. It backed the Wages Not Weapons campaign, adopting a policy that public money should be invested in working people, not diverted towards an ever-expanding military budget.
That was a hugely significant development for our movement. At a time when the UK government is coming under huge pressure from home and abroad to boost defence spending, the trade union movement put its objection on record.
But 12 months on, the pressure continues to grow. Since the last Congress, Britain has been drawn into military operations in the Middle East. The military establishment is saying that we have no choice but to prepare for war.
Therefore, the fight for Wages Not Weapons is far from over.
Trade unions have a strong and proud record opposing war. Internationalism is at the heart of our movement because working people have more in common with one another than we do with the politicians, generals and corporations that profit from conflict.
When governments go to war, it is ordinary people who pay the price. Workers lose their lives, families are displaced, and public money is diverted towards destruction rather than meeting human needs. A retreat into competing national camps and a global arms race is not the future we want.
Our solidarity should cross borders. The working people of different countries are not our enemies just because our governments are. We want conflicts prevented, diplomacy given a chance, international law respected, and human rights defended.
Opposing war is also a question of priorities. Money spent on one thing cannot be spent on another. Across our country, people are struggling to pay their bills, find affordable housing and access public services. Schools, hospitals, colleges, universities, social care and local government all desperately need investment. In the further education sector, for example, lecturers are being told that there is not enough money to level up their pay with teachers in secondary schools, even though in many cases they do exactly the same work.
At the same time, we are told that billions more will be found for weapons. This is a political choice, and it is the wrong one.
For workers, security means having a decent, stable job. It means being able to afford a home and heat it. It means knowing your children can get a good education and that you can see a doctor when you need one. It means having public infrastructure capable of protecting communities from floods, extreme weather, and the effects of climate change. These are the real foundations of a secure society.
Therefore, at this year’s Congress, UCU is bringing its Building Real Security motion with the support of Unison, NEU and others. It is the next stage of the Wages Not Weapons campaign.
The aim is to make clear that the trade union movement believes public investment should be for improving the lives of working people, rather than building the war machine.
There is enormous potential to create well-paid, unionised jobs in areas that make our communities safer and stronger: warmer homes, public transport, renewable energy and climate adaptation. Workers’ skills should be used to build a better future.
Our campaign is growing, with trade unions increasingly working together around this issue. I hope that Congress can be a springboard for this work.
The government has said that it wants a new economic model. If that is serious, then it must mean material improvements in the lives of working people, investment in the services and infrastructure that people rely on, decent wages and secure employment.
We could accept a future of endless militarisation and tell working people that there is no money for anything else.
Or we can fight for a different set of priorities: wages not weapons, social investment and international solidarity rather than division.
That is the security working people deserve.
- Jo Grady is the General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU). You can follow her on Twitter/X here.
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