Friday 22 April 2011

UNITE Executive Council election results 2011

UNITE has published the election results on its web site. Note that the results for 6 seats have not yet been decided pending rulings from the election commissioner. These are the South East region; Aerospace and Shipbuilding; Docks, Rail, Ferries and Waterways; and the National BAEM constituencies.

This is a good result for the United Left, winning 40 of the 59 seats declared so far. The new Executive faces a great responsibility, given the economic and political attacks members are facing.

Less pleasing is the poor level of participation. A number of seats (including my own) were uncontested, while the turnout where votes took place ranged from 4.7% to 10.9%. It is unsurprising that this is lower than the turnout in the recent General Secretary election (16%) as that was a simpler election and attracted far more media interest. Nonetheless, it is another sign of how much work needs to be done to strengthen union organisation so that more members feel the union is their own.



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