Global InformationTrade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation information
 | This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (August 2007) |
The Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation (TULO) is a labour organisation in the United Kingdom that was set up in 1994 by a motion to the Labour Party's Annual Conference. It had several forerunning organisations that coordinated trade union support for the Labour Party at election times such as Trade Unions for a Labour Victory and Trade Unionists For Labour. TULO is different in that, as a more formal organisation, it serves the dual purposes of not only coordinating trade union support for the Labour Party at elections, but also of acting as the channel of communication between the Party Leadership and its affiliated trade unions.
Since 2002 TULO has taken a more visible role within the Labour Party, speaking up for pro-union policies. This work lead to the Warwick One Agreement (2004), which formed part of Labour's 2005 manifesto, and the Warwick Two Agreement (2008). It also led the campaigns to secure rights for Agency Workers (2007), increase statutory redundancy pay (2009), and to win compensation for sufferers of pleural plaques, a form of asbestosis (2010).
In 2010 it rebranded its campaigning activities as UnionsTogether, and led the way on large-scale union digital campaigning. Key campaigns have included advocating improved pensions rights for older female workers, exposing coalition attacks on working rights, the NHS Condition Critical Campaign, and the Jobs & Fair Pay campaign. It has placed a particular emphasis on exposing UKIP policies to cut workers rights such as maternity, paternity, and sick pay.
In 2019 TULO again rebranded as Labour Unions. Upon the rebranding Mick Whelan, chair of Labour Unions and ASLEF general secretary stated that through trade unions working together with the Labour Party they would meet the challenges of "a hugely unequal society, poverty pay, insecure work, struggling public services, unaffordable housing, the climate crisis and a radically and rapidly changing world of work".[1]
TULO has been especially active on the issue of party funding, where it has sought to protect the engagement of trade unions in politics and to defend the role of the trade unions inside the Labour Party against the Conservative Party.
- ^ LabourList (2019-07-23). "WATCH: unionstogether relaunch as Labour🌹Unions". LabourList | Latest UK Labour Party news, analysis and comment. Retrieved 2023-08-31.