Were disabled workers thrown under the bus by the TUC?

Disabled workers thrown under the bus by the TUC

The TUC Disabled Workers Conference this year was quite muted. No big arguments or bust ups, but there were a number of interesting and important debates.

However, there was a feeling of being let down by the TUC. More than one delegate felt that the TUC had thrown disabled workers, and disabled people under the proverbial bus.

Steve Gillan, TUC President

DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) along with other deaf and disabled people’s organisations, plus a number of trade unions, had campaigned against this Labour Government proposals to cut disability benefits last year. Indeed, the TUC was part of that campaign.

When the Government shelved their proposals, the TUC, for some reason, decided it was OK to stop campaigning against the proposed cuts. The fact is that the Welfare Bill was shelved but the proposals contained in it were not withdrawn.

In reality, what happened, was that the Government introduced their cuts through the back door by:

• tightening the application of the criteria used for PIP

• forcibly moving claimants from ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) to Universal Credit, resulting in substantial cuts in benefits

• removing tax emptions from the Motability scheme

In addition, the Government are attacking the Access to Work Scheme by tightening the criteria and freezing the amount of money available to applicants.

This is ridiculous when we are in a ‘Cost of Living Crisis’. If prices go up but wages don’t rise as fast then how will a disabled worker be able to afford the increased costs of living if Access to Work and other support is frozen?

In September 2025 the TUC Congress unanimously passed motions 38 and 39 opposing UK Disability Cuts, calling for a co-ordinated and sustained action including a TUC led national demonstration against austerity. The entire trade union movement pledged coordinated and sustained action against disability cuts.

But today, there is a dangerous silence coming from Congress House.

The TUC leadership has suggested that because of minor concessions on PIP, the "emergency" has passed. They claim they no longer need to implement the actions we voted for. They are wrong!

It will be interesting to see what happens at the TUC Congress this year. Will the TUC be held to account for their inaction?

Over 20 motions were debated at the TUC Disabled Workers Conference but there were a few highlights.

David Pearce, Unite the Union

The first motion debated was entitled ‘Protect the Daily Living Component’ and during that debate one of the speakers made the point that Personal Independence Payment is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.

What this Labour Government’s is doing is not simply reform. It is a tightening of eligibility rules that risks removing vital support from disabled people who rely on it to live and work. Nearly one in four working age people in the UK are disabled, that is, around 10 million people. And many depend on PIP to meet the extra costs of daily living.

This was followed by a debate entitled ‘Really supporting disabled people into work’. The over of that motion pointed out there is clear evidence that disabled workers are being pushed to the margins of our labour market, not because of lack of talent or ambition, but because of the structural barriers that we have to face.

However, when disabled workers receive the right adjustments, when workplaces are designed inclusively, and when employers challenge stereotypes rather than reinforce them, people thrive.

The seconder of the motion made the important point that when the government talks about “getting people into work” without tackling discrimination, inaccessible workplaces, and poverty pay, it fails disabled people completely.

The motion was followed by a motion entitled ‘Fit for Purpose’ and during this debate one of the speakers highlighted the fact that as trade unionists we must champion the rights and needs of disabled workers and disabled people. We must challenge any back door attempts to diminish these rights or introduce cuts to benefits that support us in or out of work.

What these first 3 debates highlighted was the level of anger from disabled workers towards this government who were attacking them relentlessly and ultimately driving them out of work and into poverty.

Other debates included the need for Statutory Disability Leave where the mover of the motion pointed out that right now, across our workplaces, disabled workers are being failed by a system that does not recognise reality.

We are told to stay in work. We are told to manage our conditions. We are told to be resilient.

But when our disability means we need time off, even temporarily, we are treated as if we are simply sick, but we are not sick. Disability management, is not the same as treating sickness.

Not surprisingly there was a debate about Reasonable Adjustments which the Conference agreed should now be called ‘Necessary Adjustments’ because they are necessary and not optional.

Other debates included Disabled workers fighting back against the far right; Access to Work and the impact on self-employed, freelance and gig economy workers across a variety of industrial sectors.

The motion condemned the deterioration of Access to Work through excessive delays, arbitrary caps, and restrictions on support workers, especially BSL interpreters.

This report can only give a flavour of the Conference but please ensure that your trade union stands up for disabled workers and provides them with the support they need.

The reality is that an inclusive workplace is both a safer workplace and a more productive workplace.

Understanding Mental Health was a very informative fringe meeting organised by Unison