Britain Needs A Pay Rise - book your transport for 18 October

The TUC has called a national demonstration for Saturday 18th October which will become a focal point for everyone who wants to protest against cuts, austerity and the erosion of our standard of living.  It will be given a greater edge by the talk of public sector strikes on Tuesday 14th October.  In addition to local government workers who plan to strike, the ballots in health mean we could see mass action by health workers highlighting the attacks on the NHS too.  Will other public sector workers and those in the private sector who have disputes manage to coordinate their action too?

UNITE has booked some transport for 18th October from around the country.  This is likely to fill up quickly, so book your place now.  This will also help ensure there's time to put on extra transport - it can be hard to find available coaches at the last minute.

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J10 - coordinated strike day

Well done to all the members of UNITE, UNISON, GMB, NUT, PCS and FBU who struck nationally today, and to those who took part in local strikes, notably on the London underground.

I took a day's leave today to show my support.  The government and right-wing media like to sow divisions between private and public sector workers.  Public sector workers deliver services we all rely on, which will only deteriorate if pay, pensions and conditions are driven down.  It can't be right that people who look after children, sick people or old people get paid less than parasites in the city.  Worsening terms for public sector workers is part of making them more attractive for privatisation.  It's obvious that if the government gets away with cutting pay and conditions for public sector workers, employers in the private sector will be encouraged to turn the screw yet further.

I visited local authority pickets at two sites in Manchester, in Hurpurhey (where I saw a young worker join UNISON and the picketline rather than go in) and West Gorton, at a building I used to work in before the council took it over:

 

I then went to a PCS picket outside the courts, where a march set off to the main TUC rally.  Sadly, the TUC hadn't organised a march in Manchester, but lots of strikers joined in anyway:

The march joined the main rally in Piccadilly Gardens:

The big question everyone was talking about was - what next?  The FBU are escalating their action against plans to make them work to 60 or have their pension cut - they have called fifteen strikes over eight consecutive daysfrom 14-21 July.  The NUT and local authority unions are talking about more strikes in the autumn.  The TUC has called a national demonstration on 18 October.

Everyone I spoke to was clear on one thing.  They don't want to see any repeat of the loss of momentum after November 30th 2011 (N30), when some unions signed up to a rotten deal while others failed to call action and allowed the campaign to fizzle out.  People know that one day won't be enough to seriously shift this rotten government.  They want to see a serious "plan to win" - nobody wants to lose pay for a token gesture.

Labour did better this time.  Instead of attacking strikers, they sat on the fence.  But everyone knows that as the General Election approaches, union leaders tend to get more and more timid.

If the million+ who struck today want to win, they are going to need to try to do three things - build in, build out, build up.

Build in
Strikes are always uneven, and this was no exception.  The strikes mobilised huge numbers of workers.  They now need to be organised to strengthen organisation inside and between workplaces, to make sure that every worker is spoken to and future action is stronger.

Build out
Everyone got great strength and encouragement from taking action together today.  Activists in unions that didn't participate (e.g. NASUWT, UCU) need to campaign to come on board.  Activists in unions that were partly involved need to campaign to drawn in more sectors.  For example, many people (including health workers) were asking why health workers in UNITE and UNISON weren't out today, as they were on N30.  Why were PCS members out but UNITE members in MOD & Government Departments were not?  Can private sector workers coordinate their own campaigns with those in the public sector?  UNITE is particularly well placed to do this.

Build up
The government can withstand the a one-day strike every few months.  Some union leaders may be happy to keep action at this level, keeping issues simmering away in the hope that Labour will gain at the next election.  But this won't be enough to defend out public services or the pay and conditions of those who work in them.  That will take escalation.  Some union leaders are nervous about escalation, fearing that members won't support more action.  But members are far more likely to support action they believe can win, if they explain how they plan to win.  This won't happen if members just sit back and hope.  People need to get involved in the union in their workplaces and branches and campaign for it to happen, leaving union leaders in no doubt that the appetite is there and that action will be supported if called.

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UNITE Policy Conference 2014 - report (updated)

A good conference this week.

Impressively, UNITE has already posted the "progress of business" reports showing the decisions taken for Monday - Thursday on the policy conference page.

My own note of today's business was as follows:

• C23 - withdrawn
• K2 - remitted to EC
• ES4 - passed, so C22, K1 and K10 fell
• K9 passed
• M21 passed
• M22 passed
• M24 passed
• Emergency Motion on Esher - remitted to EC
• Emergency Motion on Freedom Riders - passed
• Emergency Motion on Gerry Conlon - passed
• P17 - remitted to EC
• P33 fell
• P35 - remitted to EC
• P40 passed
• P42 passed
• P8 fell

Unfortunately UNITE hasn't posted the final agenda or the texts of the Composites or Executive Statements online, so for anyone who wasn't a delegate it's pretty impossible to make sense of the results.  Hopefully this will be rectified soon.


As usual, there was consensus over much of the business of conference, but real debates on a few key issues.  For the first time many can remember, conference actually dealt with all the business, rather than motions falling off the end of the agenda due to lack of time.

Political

Executive Statement 5 was passed, with about 10-20% of conference voting against because they wanted to support Composite 26 and/or motions L5 or L9 which were more critical of Labour.

ES5 backed Labour, while being critical - basically the same political strategy UNITE has been pursuing for some years.  It approved more funding to the Labour Party "The Executive Council will work with the Labour Party to ensure it is in a position to fight an effective election campaign in 2015, and is not overwhelmed by a tide of bankers' money supporting the Tories".  It included a commitment to "review Unite's political strategy in the light of the result of the General Election, and the prospects for the development of Labour policy in a progressive direction".

Composite 26 called for a debate throughout the union on the crisis of working class representation, something Len McCluskey was keen to avoid this side of a General Election.

Motion L5 (which I moved) called for parts of the political fund to be spent directly campaigning for UNITE's policies while Labour failed to do so, reducing our affiliation each time Labour disciplines UNITE councillors for opposing cuts, and greater transparency in the political fund.

Motion L9 talked about the poor support from Labour MPs over asbestos related diseases and said that until the lack of representation for working people was addressed, our political fund should be directed to fight for those who do represent us.

The EC backed motion L12, which was passed by conference, which marks a significant shift left in union policy.  UNITE publicly supports councillors who vote against cuts and "encourages other councillors who might consider voting against cuts to do so".  UNITE will also establish a dialogue with Councillors Against the Cuts to determine the scope for joint campaigning.

Global Solidarity

Conference heard a moving speech from Aidee Moreno from the Columbian union FENSUAGRO, which has seen over 1000 members murdered.  Aidee herself has lost family members.  There was a video from Huber Ballesteros of the Columbian TUC who has been imprisoned since August last year.

Conference passed very strong policy in support of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli government's apartheid state in the shape of Composite C11 and motion F11.  Motion F12 which sought engagement with the Israeli Histadrut was not passed.  The action points from the two motions passed were:

• Raise awareness, build support, campaign and lobby for a free and independent Palestine;
• Highlight the suffering, and support the Palestinian population in Gaza living under siege; Palestinians living in the West Bank who are seeing their land illegally seized by Israeli settlements and are forced to navigate checkpoints to go to work, school and hospital; and in Israel, where they are treated as second class citizens and subject to racist laws;
• Work with other NGOs and all other supportive bodies in the UK and around the world and develop a UNITE campaigning and leverage strategy around BDS [Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions] within the next 12 months.  Notably against complicit companies involved in the occupation, the apartheid wall and the illegal settlements (such as Veolia, G4S and Sainsbury's) through workforce pressure, contracts and pension funds; and encourage members to call  on supermarkets and retailers to stop using companies which export goods from illegal settments;
• Continue to support and offer practical help to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and encourage all branches to affiliate to PSC.  Encourage branches and regions to send representatives on delegations to Palestine, to further strengthen the solidarity with Palestinian workers;
• Organise and facilitate with other union bodies and campaigning groups, a national speaking tour to include lawyers and child prisoners/families in the next 12 months;
• Raise the issue and table motions for support of the BDS campaign in the European and Global Federations;
• Organise and facilitate national or regional delegations to be sent to Palestine at least twice a year;
• Establish the issue as a standing item on the agenda of the EC and all other constitutional committees;
• Deliver a full report to the 2016 policy conference on the activities of the union.
• Utilise all Unite the Union campaign resources in conjunction with Palestine Solidarity Campaign to bring the plight of the Yarmouk Refugee Camp to members and the wider Labour movement
• To lobby MPs and government offices to campaign for the protection of humanitarian aid agencies and access to the Yarmouk Refugee Camp.
• To demand the UN enforces its commitment to Resolution 194 which asserts the rights of Palestinians to return to their land.

Motion F3 on solidarity with the Egyptian revolution, currently facing massive repression, was remitted to the EC on the basis of a commitment to discuss each point in it at the next EC meeting and report back.  The motion was calling for various solidarity actions including working with the MENA Solidarity Network.

Conference passed an emergency motion on Latin America, supporting the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Ecuador.  It passed an emergency motion opposing military intervention in Iraq.

Climate Change and Fracking

Conference passed Composite C7 "Climate Emergency - Green Jobs Now!" which backed the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group, the 1 Million Climate Jobs pamphlet, work with the ITUC and promoting the Carbon Cuts not Job Cuts protest on 6th December in London.

Conference passed motion D7 on Global Warming included a number of important policy positions, crucially including campaigning for a move to "sustainable renewable energy and a reduction of fossil fuel use".

One of the biggest debates of the week was on fracking, where the EC sought to overturn UNITE's existing policy against fracking with ES2 - which didn't even mention climate change.  Conference comfortably overturned the EC on this, passing Composite 6 instead, which strengthened UNITE's policy against fracking, and resolving to:

• make all members aware of the dangers of fracking
• actively oppose fracking, to use its influence to prevent fracking operations, advise members not to work on fracking sites nor deliver materials to such operations
• support and lobby for a moratorium on all "fracking" activities across the United Kingdom
• encourage the Labour Party and Labour controlled councils to take actions formally opposing the application of hydraulic fracturing technology within the United Kingdom
• request Unite Regional Committees support local anti-fracking groups' activities, including help with funding
• encourage members at all levels of the union to support campaigns against "fracking" and to link up with local campaigners
• support calls for taking profit out of energy production and distribution and favour the public ownership and democratic control of the energy industry with the direct input of local communities and trade unions in decisions on creating a balanced and sustainable energy policy

Conference made clear that opposition to fracking does not mean UNITE will not seek to organise workers in the industry, just as we organise workers in many other industries where employers behave unethically.

Anti-migrant racism

Conference took a strong stance against anti-migrant racism, being whipped up by UKIP, the media and mainstream politicians.  Motions E1 & E2 were passed and members are encouraged to join the demonstration at the UKIP conference in Doncaster on 27th September.

Grangemouth

Conference showed solidarity with the members at Grangemouth, still facing great difficulties from Ineos and its rogue boss Jim Ratcliffe.  Delegates were particularly appalled at the treatment of Mark Lyon and Stevie Dean, who had lost their jobs after a witch-hunt by Ineos, the Tories, Labour politicans and the media.  Stevie's daughter Ailis addressed the conference and was given a standing ovation.

Subscription Rates - low pay

In response to Composite 43 the EC had put forward statement ES6 describing a working party to consider the practicalities of reduced subscription rates for low paid workers.

Composite 43 was much stronger, calling on the EC to "adopt a subscription policy based on salary levels" and to "bring in variable subscriptions at the same rate as current part-time workers" before 2015.  Conference overturned the EC to back the Composite.

Europe

Conference adopted Executive Statement 3 which was pro-EU but called for Labour to promise a referendum on the basis that "this issue can never be resolved except on the basis of a clear democratic mandate".  Most of the speakers called who opposed ES3 were supporting F4 (pro-EU, anti-referendum) though there was also a Composite 10 that opposed the EU from a left perspective.

Ricky Tomlinson

Ricky gave an extremely powerful speech about the campaign for justice for the Shrewsbury 24. 

Five months after the successful 1972 building strike ended 24 pickets were picked up and charged with over 200 offences, including unlawful assembly, intimidation and affray. Six of the pickets were also charged with conspiracy to intimidate. None of the pickets had been cautioned or arrested during the strike. Approximately 70 police had accompanied the pickets on the Shrewsbury building sites at all times. No complaints were laid against the pickets at the time.

Des Warren, Eric (Ricky) Tomlinson and John McKinsie Jones were sent to jail.  Ricky described the sentence and treatment of Des Warren as a death sentence and claimed that the conspirpacy against these innocent men went right to the top - Ted Heath.

The current government is still refusing to release the papers about the case on grounds of "national security", reinforcing the view that this was a conspiracy to undermine trade unionism. Len McCluskey reported that Labour had pledged to release all the papers if elected to government.

Defend Our NHS

The debates around the NHS were a real highlight of the conference.

Conference adopted Executive Statement ES1 on the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade treaty that threatens to force governments to privatise and deregulate and even allow companies to sue governments that take decisions not in their financial interests.  The statement concludes "adopt a clear position of outright opposition to TIIP; Unite will now join with other civil society organisations in mobilising to fully oppose TTIP".

This video from 38 degrees explains some of the issue around TTIP:


Conference passed an emergency motion in support of UNITE medical scientists and pathologists in Northampton - NHS workers who have been locked out by their employer!  Three of the workers visited conference and were given a great welcome.

This press release gives some information about their campaign.  Messages of support can be sent via Mike Orpin, Unite the Union, Transport House, 5 Saxon Court, St Peters Gardens, marefair, Northampton, NN1 1SX or emailed to Terry Lodge.

Conference also backed the campaign over NHS pay.  The Secretary of State for Health in England has refused to accept even the miserly recommendation of the NHS Pay Review Body (1%).  Cuts to the pay and conditions of NHS staff are bound to have a knock-on effect on the quality and safety of patient services.  An Emergency Motion called for UNITE to "escalate and intensify campaigning and support for industrial action in our fight for a fair pay award for all NHS workers and in the defence of quality patient services".

UNITE's head of organising and leverage, Sharon Graham, gave a fantastic presentation about the plans for the campaign for the repeal of the Health & Social Care Act, which is seeing our NHS fragmented and sold off at a frightening rate.  UNITE has researched the links between many of the key decision makers in the destruction of the NHS and their corrupt links to private healthcare interests.  Details of the plans are confidential so that they can be used with maximum impact. 

Given the media blackout against those campaigning to defend the NHS (while they promote a steady stream of anti-NHS stories), the intention is to support key local campaigns so that they can break through the wall of silence.  UNITE is supporting the People's NHS web site which is carrying details of some key campaigns against cuts and privatisation.

The campaign will not be politically aligned, though clearly Labour hope to benefit from it now Andy Burnham has promised to repeal the Health & Social Care Act.  Labour figures who have their snouts in the privatisation trough will not be immune from the campaign.  Conference was highly critical of Andy Burnham's comment that the public NHS should be the "preferred bidder".  UNITE doesn't want bidding at all.  The stronger the campaign the more pressure there will be on all parties to shift their position.

It was made very clear that the campaign is not just for members in health.  The NHS belongs to all of us and the campaign to defend it is everyone's responsibility.  The level of commitment to the campaign was made clear when Tony Woodhouse, UNITE's chair, said he was prepared to go to jail if that was what it took to defend the NHS.

July 10th Strikes

During conference the news came through that UNITE's members working for local authorities had voted to strike over pay, and will be joining the coordinated strikes on Thursday (J10) alongside members of UNISON, GMB, NUT, PCS, FBU.  This will be the biggest day of strike action since November 30th 2011.

All members are encouraged to visit picket lines and join marches and rallies to show their support.  If public sector workers see their pay cut further in real terms, private sector employers will be more confident to follow suit.  Cuts to public sector pay make it hard to recruit and retain skilled staff.  Many speakers highlighted the disgrace that some of the most socially important jobs, such as looking after old people, are paid below the Living Wage.

J10 is also an opportunity for activists to make links between workplaces, industries and unions which will help us with every other campaign (including defending the NHS) and will help press to ensure that effective action follows after J10 rather than it being an ineffective one-off.


Esher

The last EC meeting I attended before I stood down decided not to go ahead with a proposal to sell the Esher Place training centre.  It appears this may still be an option.  An Emergency Motion opposing the sale was remitted to the EC on the basis of three commitments from the General Secretary:

1. Educational facilities will not be diminished
2. Before any decision there will be full transparency on costs
3. Before any EC decision, all EC members will discuss it with the constituents

Other points of sectoral interest

Conference passed motion H1 on Social Media Policies in the workplace, which called for education for reps on safe use of social media, campaigning for freedom of speech and restriction of surveillance, and control over employer policies which breach employees human rights.

Conference passed motion P42 from the GPM&IT South East RISC on Industrial Representation and Accountability.  This included "Regions must take into account, as per rule 7.2, industrial servicing to the membership on the basis of sectors and within reason allocate work to regional industrial officers on the basis of industrial sector as well as geographical areas, but in any event, any industrial officer must have a responsibility to give written industrial reports to the appropriate Regional Industrial Sector Committee".  There have been strong feelings from our sector, and others, that this has not been happening in all regions, meaning officers struggling due to lack of sectoral knowledge and RISCs struggling due to lack of reports.

Executive Statement 7, which was passed, committed to put legal training in place for officers and activists, to ensure each branch has an allocated solicitor practice, and to promote the working relationship between the union solicitor; the officer and the representatives.  UNITE legal director Howard Beckett reported to conference that all branches now have a solicitor allocated.  I'm sure mine isn't the only branch this will come as a pleasant surprise to - it has been promised for years.  I presume branches should contact their Regional Legal & Affiliate Services coordinator to find out who their solicitor is.  UNITE recovers over £100m in compensation for members each year - and members get the full compensation, unlike through other sources of legal representation.

Len McCluskey indicated that PCS is unlikely to join UNITE in the near future following the decision at their conference.

SOC Election

Conference elected the Standing Orders Committee for 2016:

• East Midlands: Raffiq Moosa
• Ireland: Frances Hourihane
• London & Eastern: Jeff Hodge
• North East, Yorks & Humber: Stan Sims
• North West: Dave Rochester
• Scotland: Ray Stewart
• South East: Sam Webster-Moore
• South West: Joe Conway
• Wales: Julie Evans
• West Midlands: Barry Hartshorn

Pete Gillard, who has been chair of SOC for the last three conferences, is retiring and was thanked by conference.

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Report from UNITE Special Executive meeting, 17th April 2014

The special Executive Council (EC) meeting dealt with two agenda items only.

Will PCS join UNITE?
Informal discussions have been taking place between UNITE and PCS over a possible “transfer of engagements”, which would mean PCS joining UNITE rather than a merger.

Len presented the following report:

Following a decision of the Executive Council, informal talks have been taking place with PCS on exploring a transfer of that union’s engagements into Unite.

Unite’s team has included the Chair of the Executive Council, executive officers and senior lay colleagues.  PCS’s team has been led by its General Secretary and has included lay EC members.  The talks have covered the constitutional, industrial, political and administrative questions which would arise from joining Unite.

Separately, the Executive Director for Finance has met his opposite number at PCS to consider financial, pension and property issues.

On this basis, there seems to be no impediment to opening formal talks on a transfer of engagements which would bring PCS into Unite.  Specifically:

• No significant revision of Unite’s rules would be required and the transfer of engagements will be on the basis of our existing rule book.
• Subject to the resolution of pensions issues between PCS and the Pensions Regulator, there are no obvious financial issues that would obstruct a transfer (due diligence will nevertheless have to be completed before any final agreement is brought before the Council).
• No change to Unite’s political affiliations will be sought or considered in the context of the formal discussions
• Short-term transitional arrangements will suffice to ensure the full and complete integration of the PCS membership into Unite’s existing structures

In this context, and bearing in mind the significant industrial, organisational and political advantages that would accrue to Unite as a result of such a transfer, in terms above all of the consolidation of fighting trade unionism across the public sector, it is recommended that authority be given to open formal talks with PCS to that end.

Following a discussion, the EC agreed to authorise formal negotiations with PCS.  Len McCluskey was at pains to point out that this does not mean that the transfer will necessarily take place – there is lots to sort out and both unions will have issues and concerns that need to be addressed.  Len was clear that he didn’t expect to see a change to UNITE’s timetable for internal elections and conference (PCS do this annually rather than on a 3 or 2 year cycle), nor to UNITE’s affiliation to the Labour Party.  EC members were keen to avoid another period of major turmoil as experienced in some previous mergers.

Len expects that if it all goes smoothly, the timetable might be something along these lines:

• UNITE EC kept informed about negotiations, consultation particularly with public sector membership but also sectors such as GPM&IT which overlap with the PCS Commercial sector
• Report on progress to PCS conference in late May, seeking approval to call a special conference later in the year
• Once there is a specific proposal, UNITE EC decides whether to proceed
• PCS special conference around July-August decides whether to ballot PCS members
• PCS ballots its membership around September
• PCS joins UNITE from January 2015

Sale of Esher Place

UNITE had received a substantial offer to purchase Esher Place, one of our residential training centres.  In a lengthy discussion it was clear that many EC members had concerns and unanswered questions about the proposed sale, and it was agreed to leave the proposal on the table.

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UNITE Political Fund ballot - vote YES despite the spin

Between 1 May and 22 May, UNITE members in the UK will be balloted again, this time over whether the union should keep its "political fund".

Details about the ballot and resources are here including this video campaigning for a YES vote:



The law says that to keep our political fund, UNITE must ballot all its members at least every ten years.  There are a lot of misconceptions about the political fund.  Some are being addressed by UNITE's campaign for a YES vote, but others are being fed.

In the UNITE Rulebook, Rules 23 & 24 deal with the Political Fund, while Rule 22 covers "Political Organisation - the Labour Party".  While the money in our political fund can be used for anything at all, only money from the political fund can be used for certain purposes, which are set out in Rule 23.1 (taken from the legislation).  Read them for yourself, but they basically boil down to supporting political parties or office holders, or persuading people to vote for or against candidates.

The UNITE guide to the ballot (which does contain some useful material) highlights a court case involving NALGO in 1987.  NALGO ran a "Make People Matter" publicity campaign for a year, attacking the Tory government and its policies on public services and focussing on Tory marginal constituencies.  The courts ruled that the main purpose of the campaign was to persuade people not to vote Conservative, and since NALGO had no political fund, that it could not continue or spend money on the campaign for the duration of the election.

I don't think the facts support the UNITE guide's claim that since this case "if unions want to have any kind of political voice, to campaign for changes for working people or against government policies, we must ballot for a Political Fund every ten years".  Even the case cited only banned the NALGO campaign during the election itself.  It's only in recent years that PCS and NUT (which aren't affiliated to Labour) decided to set up political funds, yet most of their members work in the public sector and they have obviously been campaigning against government policies long before they established political funds.

Better arguments for a YES vote

It's a shame that UNITE is exaggerating the case so much in order to persuade members to vote YES.  Because there are much stronger arguments for having a political fund which go right to the heart of the matter.  Without a political fund, for example:

1. We could not urge members or the public to vote against parties like the BNP which seek to divert people's anger about austerity onto scapegoats and which oppose everything UNITE stands for.
2. We could not support those few MPs, councillors and candidates who do actually stand up for our members.
3. We could not campaign against re-electing councillors or MPs who have led particular attacks on our members.
4. We would risk getting bogged down in expensive and distracting legal cases whenever our campaigning criticised the policies of a particular party, especially around election times.

The reality is that for better or worse, governments affect the lives of UNITE members inside and outside the workplace.  Workers suffer inadequate legal protection on every issue from redundancy and TUPE to health & safety and blacklisting.  Unions are tied up with genuine "red tape" designed to use the threat of legal action to pressure union officials to obstruct members taking the action they decide is needed to defend their interests.  When big business and the rich spend eye-watering sums lobbying for their interests, working people cannot afford to restrict our participation in democracy to putting a cross in a box every few years.  As individuals we have no realistic prospect of influencing national events, but collectively we can.  A union that doesn't engage on political issues is defending its members with one hand tied behind its back.

Labour letting us down

The UNITE material for the election stresses that this vote isn't about affiliation to Labour.  This is correct.  Affiliation is in our UNITE Rulebook and changing that will require a rule change at a Rules Conference (the next one is June/July 2015).  But as Jerry Hicks highlighted in his recent election campaign, there's plenty that UNITE could do short of disaffiliation to avoid funding attacks on our own members.

The UNITE campaign for the political fund emphasises every aspect of the political fund except for the support for Labour.  But this is grossly misleading.  While there are many positive things UNITE could spend its political fund on, let's look at how it is actually spent.

The most recent accounts published on the Certification Officer web site are for 2011.  Page 10 covers the political fund, showing members contributions at £6,543,000.  The only expenditure was £3,407,000 in Labour Party affiliation fees and £667,000 on "Administration expenses in connection with political objects".  The balance in the political fund rose from £3,020,000 to £5,489,000.  Just over a million UNITE members contribute to the political fund, with just over half a million not contributing, including 169,292 who had completed an exemption notice.  There's an ever so slightly more detailed breakdown in note 2 on page 27, which does include the tantalising figure of £274,000 spent on "other grants and donations".  I did write to the UNITE Finance Director the previous year, asking about the other grants and donations - "Are these Labour Party related (e.g. CDP money) or contributions to non-party-related campaigns etc?", but never got a reply, despite chasing it up.

In reality, the vast majority of UNITE's spending from the political fund currently goes to support the Labour Party.  From the limited information available, I'm unable to determine any spending that actually went elsewhere.  Part of the problem is lack of transparency.  Despite requests, the finance reports which come to the Executive Council don't show the income to, or balance of, the political fund separately.  They do show projected political spending continuing at around £3.4m for the next few years, but don't yet show 2015, when we expect the General Election.  In my 10 years on the union executive, I don't recall any decision or report on expenditure from the political fund ever coming before the EC (or the Regional Committee when I was on that), other than for Constituency Development Plans (CDPs).

What we can see from the accounts on the Certificaion Officer web site is that (as usual between elections) the political fund balance is being built up rather than spent.  I have argued elsewhere that this was a major factor behind Len McCluskey's desire to bring forward the General Secretary election.  Getting the GS election out of the way now will allow him to pump millions from the political fund into Labour for the next General Election without his successor having to justify this during a General Secretary election at the same time.

The union's political committees are closely tied to Labour and closed to the vast majority of UNITE members.  A small percentage of UNITE members are in the Labour Party, but not even all of these are eligible to take part in UNITE's political conferences and committees - Rule 22.5 puts extra hurdles in the way.  Only Labour Party members who are delegated from other UNITE committees or who are delegates to Constituency Labour Parties can take part.  The effect is often to make these committees more like the voices of Labour in the union, rather than the voice of the union in the Labour Party.

The real UNITE policy

Behind all the spin about using the political fund for purposes other than Labour, the real agenda of UNITE's leadership was made clear at the last Policy Conference.  Composite 16, which included motion 81 from the IT & Comms National Industrial Sector Committee, which read:

This Policy Conference resolves that until the Labour Party adopts and actively pursues policies in support of trade union freedom, at least 10% of members' Political Fund contributions that would historically have been spent on the Labour Party shall be used by Unite to directly campaign for trade union freedoms instead of being used for contributions to, or support for, the Labour Party.

This Policy Conference resolves that until the leadership of the Labour Party publicly supports Unite members taking industrial action against austerity and in defence of public services, at least 10% of members' Political Fund contributions that would historically have been spent on the Labour Party shall be paid into Unite's National Dispute Fund.

To ensure transparency, this Policy Conference resolves that Unite's accounts will show contributions, expenditure, assets and liabilities relating to the Political Fund separately from its general funds.

Len and the majority of the EC argued vigorously against the motion, which was defeated at the Policy Conference (though it got a sizeable vote).  If the spin was true, and lots of our political fund was already being used for non-Labour purposes, the motion would have been passed "on the nod" rather than being one of the most contentious topics of the whole conference.

Not convinced to vote YES?

Maybe you're not convinced that unions should play any political role at all.  Or you disagree so strongly with how UNITE currently uses its political fund that you think it's actively doing harm.

But I'd still argue you should vote YES.

You have the ability to "opt out" of the political fund as an individual.  By voting NO you deny any choice to the rest of the members who do think the union needs a political voice and want to contribute despite the problems.

If you believe that a majority oppose the current political strategy of UNITE, we should be able to change it for the better - wouldn't that be a better approach?  Voting NO means siding with every Tory who wants to prevent working people having any voice in politics at all.

As you may have gathered, I don't agree with UNITE's current political strategy.  But I'm still contributing to the political fund.  I think there's a problem with "opting out" as an individual - it leads people to see the union's political work as no longer their responsibility or concern (even though it still affects us all), and give up on the idea of changing it for the better.  Changing it requires a collective democratic decision.  I'd much rather people contributed and fought to change UNITE policy rather than giving up and opting out.

What next?

The immediate task is to ensure a YES vote in the ballot, so that UNITE can continue to have a political voice.  But we should fight to change UNITE's political strategy too.

Jerry Hicks' magnificent 79,819 votes in the General Secretary election, despite Len McCluskey's "red-baiting" appeals for right wing support, reflected widespread anger at UNITE's ongoing support for Labour MPs even when they aren't representing us.

Those Labour councillors like Kevin Bennett and Councillors Against Cuts who vote against the cuts deserve everyone's support.  But Labour suspends or expels people who stand up for UNITE policies.

Jerry argued that we should support MPs and councillors when they support us, not keep pumping in money in the hope that they might do so in the future.  He also argued for renegotiating the Labour Party affiliation fee to reduce our massive contributions.  The affiliation fee is £3 a year per member, and UNITE's affiliation fees are over £3.4m a year, suggesting we are affiliating on a membership significantly greater than the 1m who contribute to the political levy.  If we can do this, why can't we affiliate on a lower membership figure as a start, instead of giving Labour this extra money?

We should also demand that UNITE spends its political fund more in line with the impression created by its YES campaign.  I live in the north-west, where we have Nick Griffin as a BNP MEP.  I'd love to see a large chunk of our political fund spent on the Griffin Must Go campaign.  The last EC meeting failed to endorse the motion from our Health National Industrial Sector Committee calling for a national demo in defence of the NHS - what better use of our political fund?  Campaigns like these could involve a far wider section of our membership than the narrow political committees which are closed even to most Labour Party members, and increase the engagement of UNITE members with politics.  Wouldn't that be a more promising political strategy than asking us all to join Labour, get selected as candidates, get elected and then get suspended or expelled if we actually stand up for UNITE policies?

If UNITE continues with its current strategy, things are likely to get worse.  We already have a big gap between words and deeds, with the link to Labour acting as a brake on our campaigning.  As the General Election approaches, the pressure will build on Len McCluskey and the rest tone down their rhetoric and keep a lid on action.  Yet Labour's leaders couldn't make clearer that even if they are elected, they won't reverse the damage being inflicted on working people by the Con-Dems.  The absence of a General Secretary election for another five years will make it harder for UNITE's leadership to stand up to these pressures.

If we want to protect our jobs, living standards, services and communities, we are going to have to put up a fight rather than waiting for Labour.

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Protest to defend Labour Councillor Kevin Bennett from disciplinary action for opposing cuts

I posted yesterday about the threat Kevin Bennett was facing of disciplinary action by Labour for voting against the cuts.  Today was his hearing - and the protest outside it at Warrington town hall.

I was very pleased to see a highly visible presence on the protest from UNITE, including officers and organisers, Executive Council members and members of the Regional Political Committee.  UNITE has long standing policy of supporting councillors who vote against cuts, but this is the first public sign I've seen of beginning to implement it.

 Kevin was among a number of speakers who addressed the crowd:

If we're serious about opposing the cuts to services and jobs, I think UNITE needs to move from a relatively passive policy of supporting councillors whether they vote for or against cuts, to actively asking councillors to vote against them, which would help increase the numbers and make it harder for them to be picked off.  UNITE should also make clear that we will continue to support councillors expelled from Labour for opposing cuts - including if they stand for re-election.

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Defend Warrington Councillor Kevin Bennett - facing disciplinary action for opposing cuts

Another councillor faces disciplinary action by the Labour Party this week - for opposing the cuts.

Kevin Bennett is a councillor in Fairfield and Howley in Warrington, and is a former member of UNITE's Executive Council.  He defied the Labour whip and voted against the cuts at a meeting in early March.

Kevin has explained his views clearly:

"We need to send a strong message of defiance to this idealistic, uncaring Tory led coalition government and show the people of Warrington that we have got the guts to stand up to them.

"I expressed my views on what I believe to be the views of many people, on having to implement cuts which are not of our making.  It is wrong that we should be in the firing line when all of this is a result of vicious funding cuts by this Tory led coalition government.

"This council could safeguard jobs and services for the next 12 months by using reserves and borrowing.  This would buy time to build a fight-back against this Tory led coalition government.  The Labour council's Executive Members and Portfolio holders are refusing to even consider this option.

"There is a definite correlation between the worst cuts and deprivation and I see it in my ward.  There must be NO compulsory redundancies within the council workforce, and we must fight to keep our services 'in house'.  Once they're gone they're gone and probably won't save us money."

Kevin is part of a small but growing band of councillors standing up against the cuts and who deserve our support.

There's a protest in support of Kevin at Warrington town hall 6-6:30pm, Thursday 4th April.  The town hall is on Sankey Street (WA1 1SR), a few minutes from Warrington Bank Quay station.  Go along and let the Labour group know that disciplinary action against Kevin would be intolerable.

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Building for the 20th October demonstration from Greater Manchester

Update note:  The meeting on 24th July advertised below is cancelled.
Update 2:  Greater Manchester Association of TUCs have organised a replacement meeting which is 6pm on Tuesday 31st July at Methodist Central Hall, Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JQ.  Facebook event here.

The TUC demonstration on 20th October is crucial for all of us.  After the magnificent build-up of opposition last year, from the half-million strong demo on 26th March to the strike on 30th June and the huge strikes and protests on 30th November, the opposition to the government's disastrous austerity policies really seemed to be building up.  But the leaders of the trade union movement wasted that momentum with delays, dithering, and shoddy deals.

The "A Future That Works" demo on 20th October is part of a push to get the momentum back.  Some unions are already planning strikes around that date, and students are planning their own demonstration in the autumn too.

We need to make sure the demo on 20th October is bigger and stronger than the 26th March and that it gives people confidence to fight back.  This is quite possible.  The 26th March was the first trade union mobilisation on that scale for a decade.  While it was magnificent there were many lessons learned - and if we learn them it should not be hard to make 20th October far far bigger.  Amongst those lessons were the need to organise and book transport earlier and the need for better coordination between different organisations involved in building the demo.

Unite's "Manchester Area Activists Committee", which covers Greater Manchester, decided to initiate an meeting to help build for the demonstration and is sending a letter out to other unions, trades councils and community campaigners to invite them to take part.  Below is the text of the letter (I've removed the contact details to avoid spam - please contact me if you have any questions).

To: all trade unionists and community campaigners across Greater Manchester

The TUC has called a national demonstration in London on 20th October to send the message that

AUSTERITY ISN'T WORKING

·         spending cuts threaten a lost decade

·         invest for jobs and growth

·         defend quality public services

The aim is to make this demonstration even bigger than the one on 26th March 2011, and to achieve this we need to organise - now.

Unite's Manchester Area Activists Committee, which covers the whole of Greater Manchester, decided to initiate an open organising meeting to build the maximum turnout for 20 October from Greater Manchester and to approach other unions, trades councils and campaign groups to take part.

This open organising meeting will take place:

6:30pm, Tuesday 24th July

Unite the Union, Merchants Quay, Salford Quays, Salford, M50 3SG

Free car parking is available and the Unite office is a few minutes' walk from Salford Quays Metrolink stop

We hope you will be able to attend the meeting and to publicise it through your own networks.

TUC materials to help build for the demonstration are available from www.afuturethatworks.org.

If you have any questions about the meeting please contact me, Jimmy Carter --- or Ian Allinson ---.

We look forward to seeing you there and working with you to make 20 October a resounding success.

In solidarity

Jimmy Carter

Secretary, Unite Manchester Area Activists Committee

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Decisions of UNITE Policy Conference, Wednesday 27 June 2012

These were the decisions:

• Composite 19 (motions 105+amendment, 106, 107 & 108) Defend the NHS: Carried
• Composite 20 (motions 109 & 110) Council Housing: Carried
• Motion 112 + 2 amendments Public Services, Jobs & Pay: The Fightback: Carried
• Motion 111 Rent Control to Replace Benefit Caps: Carried
• Motion 113 Shared Services / Contracting Out: Carried
• Motion 114 Campaign Against the Cuts: Carried
• Motion 115 Wealth Tax: Carried
• Motion 116+amendment Benefit Cuts: Carried
• Emergency Motion 10 A Tax On Young People: Carried
• Motion 118 Private Finance Initiative (PFI): Carried
• Motion 117 Campaign for the Reform of National Insurance Contributions: Remitted
• Motion 119 Yvonne Hossack Campaigner against Care Home Closures: Lost
• Emergency Motion 3 National Collective Bargaining: Carried
• Emergency Motion 8 Legal Aid Bill: Carried
• Emergency Motion 11 Hidden Agenda of the Localism Bill: Carried
• Composite 11 (motions 69+amendments & 71) Defending Pensions: Carried
• Composite 12 (motions 70, 72+amendments & 80) Occupational Pensions: Carried
• Composite 13 (motions 74+amendment, 76, 77 & 78) State Pensions: Carried
• Composite 14 (motions 75 & 79+amendment) Dignity for Pensioners: Carried
• Motion 73 Enhanced Retirement Provision: Remitted
• Motion 26 Diversity in the Union: Lost
• Motion 35+amendment Equality Monitoring in Appointments: Carried
• Motion 36 Getting Involved: Carried
• Motion 40 Job Equality: Carried
• Motion 27 BAEM Members at the heart of the Unite Community Sectino: Carried
• Motion 28 BAEM workers voice needs to be heard now: Remitted
• Composite 6 (motions 30+amendment, 31, 32 & 33) Disabled Workers: Carried
• Motion 29+2 amendments Disability Hate Crime: Carried
• Motion 34 Adherence to Article 19: Carried
• Motion 37 LGBT Education and Zero Tolerance to Discrimination: Carried
• Motion 38+amendment 2 (amendment 1 was remitted) Organising and Young People: Carried
• Motion 39 Young Workers - Underpaid or Unpaid: Carried
• Motion 104 Votes at 16: Carried
• Motion 41+amendment Asylum Seekers: Carried
• Motion 42+amendment Gypsy and Traveller Law Reform: Carried
• Motion 43 Moroccan Workers in Gibraltar: Carried
• Executive Statement ES1 Balanced Energy Policy: Carried
• Composite 3 (motions 17 & 18) Nuclear Power: Fell
• Motion 16 Nuclear Motion 2012: Withdrawn
• Composite 4 (motions 20, 21+amendment, 23 & 24) Green Jobs and Sustainable Development: Carried
• Motion 19+amendment Low Carbon Industrial Strategy: Fell
• Motion 22 Integrated Planning Regulation: Carried
• Motion 25 Hydraulic Facturing / Fracking: Carried
• Motion 101 CLASS Action: Carried
• Motion 102 Unite Code of Conduct for Employers: Remitted
• Motion 103 National Shop Stewards Network: Remitted
• Motion 44 Palestinian Child Prisoners in Israeli Detention: Carried
• Motion 45 Support for Gaza: Carried

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10 May public sector strikes

After a long gap since November 30th, broken only by UCU & NUT striking in London, there is now a chance to get the fight to defend public sector pensions back on track.  UNITE members in Health, MOD and Government departments will be striking on 10th May, as will members of UCU and PCS and a group of RMT members.  UNISON health members also rejected the government's proposals in a ballot, despite strong encouragement from their leaders to accept, but UNISON's leadership shows no sign of calling action to win anything better.

The 10 May is important for all of us, not just those in the public sector.  If the government gets away with making millions of public servants work longer, pay more and get less, it can only encourage private sector employers to come back for another round of attacks on our pensions.  And of course the cuts in pensions are part of the government's wider cuts agenda - pushing the cost of the recession onto working people, tipping the economy into a "double-dip" recession and slashing and privatising our vital services.

We should all build support for members taking action on 10th May, for example:

• Sending messages of support
• Collecting money for the strikers
• Visiting picket-lines before going to work
• Joining marches and rallies

Manchester TUC has produced a helpful summary of what's going on in Manchester, where there are  marches from the north and south of the city converging for a rally.

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Union membership and wage premium for 2011

This week saw the publication of the latest report from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on trade union membership - Trade Union Membership 2011.

Overall, the picture on union membership remains bleak, with the number of union members falling slightly (to 6.4m) and the "union density" (the proportion of employees who are in a union) falling slightly (to 26%).  There was a slight rise in union membership in the private sector.  Union density in the public sector rose slightly as non-members lost their jobs faster than members.

On a more positive note, the "union wage premium" (the difference between average hourly earnings for union members and non-members) continues to rise.  In 2011 the premium stood at 8% in the private sector 18% in the public sector.  This difference is partly explained by the difference in union density - only 14.1% of private sector workers were in unions compared to 56.5% of public sector workers.

Across the whole workforce, the average hourly earnings for a union member was £14.18 compared to £12.01 for a non-member - a difference of 18.1% which is worth pointing out when people question the value of union organisation.

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We're NOT all in it together

I've come across two sets of information recently which have rammed home the point that we're not "all in it together".

The Sunday Times has published its annual "Rich List".  Even their own headline makes the point "The Sunday Times Rich List reveals that Britain’s wealthiest people are richer than ever despite the worst recession since the 1930s".  Even The Telegraph, that well-known friend of the poor, highlights the discrepancy between the rest of us and the top 1000 people: "Their total fortune has risen by just under five per cent since 2011, to £414 billion, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.  That exceeds the previous record of £412.8 billion set in 2008, which came just a few months before the financial crash from which the wider British economy has yet to recover".

The second set of information has received a lot less publicity.  I found it via the blog of the economist Michael Roberts.  In this article on the weak US recovery, he highlights how as profit rates recovered, corporations hoarded profits, rather than reinvesting them, undermining the recovery of the wider economy.  The figures are staggering - he explains:

"US corporate profits have recovered dramatically since the trough at the end of 2008.  They surpassed their previous peak in 2006 by early 2010.  This was achieved by a massive reduction in costs (including labour costs) and a strike in investment.  But most of the recovery in profits since the end of 2008 has been hoarded and not spent on new investment.  According to these latest figures, undistributed profits have accumulated to $744bn from just $19bn at the end of 2008!   Profits are up around $1trn since then, but the cash accumulation is up over $700bn, so only 30% of the increase in profits has been spent on new investment.  This explains why the economic recovery has been so weak, with the US economy growing only barely at 2% a year (1.6% yoy according to the latest Q4’11 GDP data)."

So next time some millionaire cabinet minister (and most of them are) tells us that there's no money for decent jobs or for the services we all rely on, let's remember that there are individuals and corporations sitting on vast wealth which could be far better used by those who produced it.

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UNITE North-West Regional Committee, April 2012

1. Regional Secretary Paul Finegan was absent due to illness.  His deputy, Mick Whitley, stood in.

2. The chair highlighted the poor attendance by lay members at meetings of many committees in the region and the increasing numbers of complaints from members about full time officers.  He was concerned that the north-west had lost its position as one of the best regions in the union.  I raised concerns about the lack of management in the region – there should be no need to wait for member complaints if officers fail to schedule meetings or submit reports.  Mick said that a tighter rein would be kept on the sector secretaries.

3. I complained about the decision to merge the NW Electrical Engineering & Electronics (EEE) and IT & Comms (ITC) Regional Industrial Sector Committees (RISCs) which had been taken without any communication or consultation with committee members.  The chair agreed that a meeting with the relevant officers and members of the RISCs would be organised to discuss the proposal.

4. The Regional Committee approved the proposal to create a Fujitsu North-West branch.

5. The region will not only write to all branch officers about the elections in June, but to all reps as well – elections are required in both all branches and all workplaces and not all are the same or in good communication with each other.

6. The Regional Secretary had written to branches saying that “provided you are a constituted branch and we have received completed signed copies of your Branch returns accompanied by relevant bank statements”...”As per rule – Branch Administration and/or Fund payments due to the Branch will continue to be paid by BACs payment directly into your Unity Trust bank accounts”.  Given that payments to some branches had been stopped without any explanation, I had queried what a “constituted branch” meant.  The Regional Secretary had responded that “they simply need to have the appropriate elected officials in place and for those individuals to be logged on to our membership system”.  I asked why funds had then been blocked to constituted branches, and was told by the chair that this was a national action, not from the region.

7. The regional chair said that they would do a briefing for branches on doing accounts.  He suggested that a new handbook for branch officers was needed (in addition to the training courses available) given that new officers would be elected in June.

8. UNITE Political Director Steve Hart explained the union’s political strategy.

9. The Regional Committee pledged its ongoing support for the workers at Mayr Melnhoff Packaging who have been treated disgracefully but who are putting up a great fight to keep the plant open.  It was agreed that the weekly schedule of activities would be circulated so that members could join in and show their support.

10. Senior Regional Organiser Mike Thompson gave an update on organising.  The highlight was the successful claim for union recognition via the CAC at Eddie Stobart Daresbury.

11. The Regional Committee discussed a number of remits from RISCs and AACs.  Due to the way the meetings are conducted, it is hard to tell what decisions (if any) are been taken.  These are key ones I’m confident about and that weren’t just noted:

a. A remit from the Manchester Area Activists Committee calling on the EC to immediately adopt a policy similar to that agreed at the 2000 MSF conference (to ban secret payments to union employees) and to bring forward a similar rule change to the next rules conference was rejected.
b. A remit  from the Manchester Area Activists Committee on cleansing of membership records was agreed.
c. A remit from the Merseyside Area Activists Committee supporting “Occupy Liverpool” was agreed.
d. A remit from the Merseyside Area Activists Committee calling for a commemoration of the 30th anniversary of militant labour in Liverpool was agreed.
e. A motion from the Merseyside Area Activists Committee opposing the EDL was agreed.

12. UNITE organiser Michelle Smith gave an update on Liverpool Against the Cuts and members are encouraged to get involved.

13. It was agreed to hold open Area Activists Meetings in each area before the public sector strikes on 10 May and to invite PCS to join these, in line with our cooperation agreement.

14. A request from the Manchester Area Activists Committee to appoint a lead office for Greater Manchester who could be the union’s public face, circulate information about campaigns, and liaise with campaigns in the area, will be considered by the regional Finance & General Purposes Committee.

15. Terry Abbot was elected as a delegate to the national Labour Party conference.

16. A replacement female delegate to the UNITE policy conference is required.  It was agreed to ask female Regional Committee members who weren’t in attendance.

17. John Lea has been appointed as the Regional Education Officer.

18. The UNITE NW retired members are providing stewards for the Pensioners’ Parliament organised by the National Pensioners’ Convention and are asking for a stall to highlight the union’s campaign on fuel poverty and UNITE membership in return.

19. Pete Gillard has been elected as chair of the Standing Orders Committee for the 2012 Policy Conference.  The number of motions submitted had dropped from 330 to 210 for this conference.  Five motions (including two from NW branches) had been ruled out of order.  Each branch and committee can submit one amendment to a motion.

20. Helen Osgood gave the equalities report.  Equality Reps training is still available on 14th May – details are on the UNITE web site.  Funding was agreed for a number of important equality events.

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