BRIGHTON, England, Sept 13 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned his traditional trade union allies Monday there could be no return to outdated working practices as he gears up to fight for a third consecutive term.
"There can be no return to the industrial relations framework of the 1970s, no move away from the enterprise and dynamism a modern economy needs," Blair told the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
"We cannot and will not reverse the programme of change and modernisation that together with record investment is delivering public services combining equity with choice and excellence," Blair told the opening day of the gathering in the seaside resort of Brighton, southern England.
Blair is widely expected to call a general election for the first half of 2005, and his speech to delegates was seen as a call for union support at the polls.
TUC members, numbering almost seven million workers in 70 affiliated unions, traditionally vote for the Labour Party.
But relations between a small number of trade unions and Labour have hit all-time lows in recent months as a result of bitter disputes over pay and other working conditions.
Blair used his speech to congratulate his government on its economic achievements during the past seven years following back-to-back general election victories for Labour.
Blair said long-term interest rates in Britain were the lowest for 25 years while employment had risen steadily without generating inflation.
"Britain is working, its economy now one of the most dynamic and competitive in the world," Blair told the conference, amid small ripples of applause.
Ahead of Blair's speech TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber spoke of unions' "love-hate relationship" with the government.
"The phrase 'love-hate relationship' could have been invented to describe how we get along with a Labour government," Barber told delegates.
"Yes, we recognise the achievements" of the Labour government, he said, but added: "That does not mean we haven't had our differences" with Labour.