New TUC President Matt Wrack issues call for a “determined, mobilised trade union movement”

• Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, elected as TUC President
• Election comes as TUC endorses strategy of non-compliance with anti-union laws
• Union leader issues warning that “austerity wearing a different colour rosette is still austerity”

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has today been elected as the new President of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). He will serve in the role for a year and preside over the TUC Congress in September 2024. He will also chair the TUC’s general council and executive committee.

In a statement issued following his election, he attacked a “government for the billionaires which is relying on a toxic cocktail of authoritarianism, bigotry and attacks on our right to strike”. He also said that “austerity wearing a different colour rosette is still austerity”, warning politicians that “if they fail workers, they will face a determined, mobilised trade union movement”.

Wrack’s election follows Monday’s vote at TUC congress for a strategy of non-compliance and non-cooperation against the government’s new anti-union laws.

Speaking after his election as TUC President, Matt Wrack said:

“On behalf of firefighters, I am proud to be taking up the role of TUC President at what will be a decisive moment for the trade union movement, in the wake of an inspiring wave of industrial action across the economy.

“The cost of living crisis is a war by the ultra-rich on workers. While profits and inflation have soared, workers are being hit with falling wages, crumbling public services and yet more austerity.

“Rather than address the crisis, this government for the billionaires is relying on a toxic cocktail of authoritarianism, bigotry and attacks on our right to strike. As TUC President, I will support the development of a movement that can defeat this authoritarian war on workers and win the repeal of all the anti-union laws. 

“Since 2010, the fire and rescue service has lost one in five jobs. It’s a similar story across many industries. Now is the time to make the case for investment, jobs and pay – and to back that case with organisation and struggle.

“As we approach the general election and prepare for a change of government, workers are angry and hungry for an alternative. Austerity wearing a different colour rosette is still austerity, and politicians must understand that if they fail workers, they will face a determined, mobilised trade union movement.”