The 157th annual TUC Congress is being held from September 7-10 in Brighton with the TUC theme of "changing the world of work for good". Once again, Congress comes at a time when workers in Britain and around the world are asserting that their voice must be heard, recognised and respected. As the Big Meeting at the Durham Miners Gala in July this year showed, the workers and trade union movement in their tens and hundreds of thousands are still here and not going anywhere [1]. This, and the ongoing strike struggles and other actions of workers, vividly demonstrates that the workers are continuing to fight for their rights and interests against the onslaught of the rich to destroy their living standards, their conditions at work, their conditions at home and their environment, their welfare and public services and the right to live in a world at peace with other nations and peoples. This is especially true when considered in the context of Britain's continued escalation of wars, particularly with its arming of Israeli genocide in Palestine and its continued escalation of NATO's proxy war in Ukraine.

This is why the time is now for the working people to renew and strengthen their organisations fit for the challenges of today, stand firm and speak out in their own name, with their own outlook and programme to build the opposition to the pay-the-rich system and the ruling elite's pro-war agenda which wants to consume our youth in imperialist war. This is such a moment in history when the working class and people must continue to develop and fight for their perspective and vantage point that they and the movements of the working class and people are the alternative that will give rise to the New in society.

One of the greatest challenges the workers face is to strengthen their organisations and establish mechanisms for discussion and deliberation amongst their peers so that they can share their experiences as they organise and take action. Today, the situation is such that the workers cannot afford to simply adopt pre-established positions fed to them by the cartel parties and their apologists which are outside of the workers' own actions and experience and are a block to their progress. They must continue to investigate with their peers and become informed, must work out their own positions based on their own struggle and speak in their own name individually and collectively.

Workers are increasingly aware that the cartel-party political system in Westminster provides no respite or prospect, or "plan for change" as the present Labour government claims. With this political crisis the ruling elite tries pit the "left" and "centre" and against the "far right" parties that are also promoted and backed by the oligarchs trying to weaken, divert and divide the people along with the other cartel party in power. Only the working class has the interest and outlook to unite the people around defending the rights of all in the course of their struggles to fight for what is the new and just alternative for society. The working class has the mission to bring about a situation where the interests and decision-making of working people will prevail, a situation which favours them and not the oligarchs who presently are restructuring the state in their favour.

Will these vital questions be reflected at the TUC Congress this year? This year the theme of the TUC is "changing the world of work for good". There are 76 motions with amendments [2] in the provisional agenda. Many debates are planned around motions and composite motions, not least from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference affirming the fight of disabled workers against the government's ongoing attack on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC). This is part of the many motions on the workers' fight against poverty pay and for pay restoration and investment in public services such as education and health, ranging from the fight to restore maternity services to the fight to save the steel and pottery industries. Thus running through the debates will be the focus on the fight to defend the rights of all workers regardless of race, religion, origin, status or gender.

Motions on AI will also be discussed. The theme here is to transform the situation and harness the technological advances to serve a human-centred society that looks after the interests of working people for their prosperity and for peace at home and abroad.

A motion from the University College Union entitled Wages Not War says; "reaffirm that our movement's priority is welfare and wages, not weapons and war" highlighting that "British participation in the F-35 programme implicates it in Israel's grave violations of international law in Gaza" and the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians. Another motion led by the National Education Union (NEU) stands against Israel's ongoing genocidal onslaught on Gaza which has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, including 18,000 children. "Key workers have been targeted by Israel, with 166 journalists and media workers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid workers killed since 2023" and the motion calls for the ending of "this shameful complicity in Israel's illegal occupation, colonial apartheid and genocide". This debate will go along with a report from the General Council to Congress on their statements with TUC-supported workplace days of action for Palestine in November, February and May for the "suspension of the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement, and an end to all licences for arms traded with Israel, meeting international law a ban on UK trade in illegal settlement goods." These actions led to the TUC efforts "to secure a resolution on European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) trade policy regarding Israel". There will also be an important address to Congress on Wednesday morning by Shaheer Saed from the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

The oligarchs increasingly continue to wreck society and create wars and chaos in the world to service their super-wealth. Only the working class has the interest to transform the situation and is the only class that can save the day and lead the fight for the new society and an Anti-War Government in Britain. These and other vital questions must be discussed by the workers themselves everywhere and their voice needs to be heard. The necessity is to continue to act and work out their positions for their own interests and fight for the alternative and change the world of work and society for good! Workers' Weekly calls on the TUC delegates to rise to the occasion.

Notes
1. 139th Durham Miners Gala and Big Meeting "We Are Still in Palestine and You Are Still Here in Durham A Torch Lighting Our Path towards the Future", Workers' Weekly, August 2 2025
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-25/ww25-17/ww25-17.htm
2. Provisional Agenda TUC Congress 2025
https://congress.tuc.org.uk/motion_type/all_motions/#sthash.RRkjFVlf.RGZU0EsD.dpbs

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