‘If tech billionaires can blast popstars into space, they can pay more tax’ – TUC chief urges PM to take on banks and the super-rich
Paul Nowak will use his TUC Congress speech to call on Andy Burnham to stand up to banks, billionaires and outsourcing giants and deliver stronger workers’ rights
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak is to attack opponents of new workers’ rights and urge the Government to “face down” vested interests in a keynote speech to the TUC Congress in Brighton on Monday.
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Mr Nowak will call for an economy that benefits everybody, “not just the uber rich” and will say that opponents of new workers’ rights “only care about themselves and their bottom line”.
He will point out that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has started to give “breathing space” to families and businesses, but he will add that more is needed to deliver the circuit breaker he has promised.
The TUC union leader will urge the Prime Minister to stand up to big banks, the super-rich and outsourcing giants, saying: “The new Prime Minister has already started to give breathing space to families and businesses, but to deliver the circuit breaker he has promised the British public, Andy Burnham is going to have to be prepared to face down vested interests.
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He went on: “I simply say this to the Prime Minister: ignore every single one of them. They don’t care about British workers. They don’t care about public services. They only care about themselves and their bottom line.
“If union-busting tech billionaires can blast their popstar mates into space, then they can pay more tax.
“If water companies can’t provide basic services because they’ve paid out huge dividends for decades, then bring them back into public ownership.”
Mr Nowak will add that Britain’s big four banks are making more than £1 billion a week, adding that taxing banks could help cut people’s energy bills.
He will say: “Yes, we want a growing economy, but we want it to benefit everybody, not just the uber rich.
“What’s the point of GDP going up, share prices going up, and dividends going up, if wages aren’t going up too?”