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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/dec/16/len-mccluskey-unite-must-fight-for-end-of-free-movement
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| Len McCluskey: Unite must fight for end of free movement Len McCluskey: Unite must fight for end of free movement | |
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| Unite’s general secretary, Len McCluskey, has said the union must listen to the concerns of working people and push for an end to free movement of labour. | Unite’s general secretary, Len McCluskey, has said the union must listen to the concerns of working people and push for an end to free movement of labour. |
| Launching his bid to be re-elected as general secretary of the UK’s largest union, McCluskey said “workers have always done best when the labour supply is controlled and communities are stable”. | Launching his bid to be re-elected as general secretary of the UK’s largest union, McCluskey said “workers have always done best when the labour supply is controlled and communities are stable”. |
| He added: “While we must reject any form of racism, and help refugees fleeing war, we must also listen to the concerns of working people. | He added: “While we must reject any form of racism, and help refugees fleeing war, we must also listen to the concerns of working people. |
| “That’s why I have called for new safeguards to stop companies cutting costs by slashing workers’ wages and transforming a race-to-the-bottom culture into a rate-for-the-job society.” | “That’s why I have called for new safeguards to stop companies cutting costs by slashing workers’ wages and transforming a race-to-the-bottom culture into a rate-for-the-job society.” |
| The move puts him at odds with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who has staunchly defended freedom of movement and rejected calls for curbs on immigration. | The move puts him at odds with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who has staunchly defended freedom of movement and rejected calls for curbs on immigration. |
| McCluskey resigned last week, triggering an early election for the role of Unite’s general secretary. On Monday, Gerard Coyne, a regional secretary for the union in the West Midlands, announced he was running for the role. | McCluskey resigned last week, triggering an early election for the role of Unite’s general secretary. On Monday, Gerard Coyne, a regional secretary for the union in the West Midlands, announced he was running for the role. |
| McCluskey, a former docker who has been general secretary since 2011, launched his campaign on Friday, PoliticsHome reported. He focused on the role of the union in post-Brexit Britain and combating the “gig economy”. | McCluskey, a former docker who has been general secretary since 2011, launched his campaign on Friday, PoliticsHome reported. He focused on the role of the union in post-Brexit Britain and combating the “gig economy”. |
| “In all the talk of hard and soft [Brexit], of market access and so on, workers need to know that someone is looking out for them,” McCluskey said. | “In all the talk of hard and soft [Brexit], of market access and so on, workers need to know that someone is looking out for them,” McCluskey said. |
| “We are putting protecting jobs, as at Nissan, and workers’ rights at the top of the agenda – but that work is just starting. We can’t let the City and the CBI settle our economic future without hearing from working people.” | “We are putting protecting jobs, as at Nissan, and workers’ rights at the top of the agenda – but that work is just starting. We can’t let the City and the CBI settle our economic future without hearing from working people.” |
| McCluskey described the emergence of the “gig economy” as the “age-old problem of a casual labour market”, adding that it had reached epic proportions in Britain. | McCluskey described the emergence of the “gig economy” as the “age-old problem of a casual labour market”, adding that it had reached epic proportions in Britain. |
| “That millions of workers have no security and few rights is a blight on British society,” he said. “The trade union challenge is to offer these workers the same protections as we do to those in better-established industries. | “That millions of workers have no security and few rights is a blight on British society,” he said. “The trade union challenge is to offer these workers the same protections as we do to those in better-established industries. |
| “Unite will be in the forefront of legal and political campaigns to end the abuses of the ‘flexible’ labour market.” | “Unite will be in the forefront of legal and political campaigns to end the abuses of the ‘flexible’ labour market.” |