Hugo Pierre, Unison local government service group executive, personal capacity
On 13 January, the nomination process for electing Unison’s new National Executive Council (NEC) begins. The election for Unison’s national leadership will take place against a background of crisis for members in all the areas the union organises in.
According to the Local Government Association, there is a £4 billion projected deficit in funding of local councils this year, rising to £6.5 billion in 2025-26. This is after councils have lost 22.6% of their core funding since 2010.
In the NHS there are near-record waiting lists in the midst of a winter crisis. Universities face a funding crisis because of the commercialisation of the sector – which could result in some going bankrupt either this financial year or possibly the next. The social care sector is massively understaffed, with nearly a quarter of a million vacancies across all types of care.
The water industry is wracked by rampant profiteering, and the probation and justice services are unable to play the role of rehabilitating offenders because of funding crises.
Labour’s Budget severely shortchanged public sector workers regarding dealing with any of these long-term crises. And potentially made them worse, with increases to employers’ national insurance adding to funding pressures.
The recent government announcement of a 2.8% pay envelope for public sector workers in 2025 will do nothing to repair 15 years of damage that saw most workers lose around 20% of the value of their pay, and now makes working in the sector massively unattractive.
History of right-wing leadership
Unfortunately, Unison’s national leadership has not stepped up to meet the challenges members face in their workplaces. A history of right-wing leadership has left the union organisationally weak, even though it is the largest trade union in Britain with 1.3 million members. Their policy of building a ‘members-services-based union’ reduced the activist layer, as well as attacking the democratic structures and participation of the membership.
It is clear that the current general secretary, a large section of the paid officials, and a layer of self-serving lay officials want Unison to become a ‘partner union’ of the Labour government. They have never been prepared to fight alongside the membership in militant struggle, but have largely seen the role of the union as another pressure group or lobbying organisation when opposing attacks on members.
Now they have received documents from the government aimed at getting partnership in schools, and presumably the intention of a cost-cutting Labour government is for other sectors to follow.
The only real option for Unison members in the face of these attacks is to develop a fighting programme that organises the members to win on a local and national level, against a government that has set out its plans to protect the bosses’ profits and reduce public services to suit their demands. Only a programme that sets its task to fight Labour in power can rebuild the strength of our union.
Left needs a fighting approach
Since 2021, the left has controlled the NEC, although with a narrow majority since 2023. The left also controls the large Local Government Service Group. An internal battle for the direction of the union has been fought out at this level, but so far it has tended to concentrate on organisational issues that have not involved the wider membership.
The decision by the left bloc Time For Real Change (TFRC) to back for union president an NEC member who was under investigation for harassing female members and staff set the left back. It mobilised a demoralised right wing to win conference decisions to sanction the NEC and force it to reverse some of its decisions.
The wider membership now has to have a say in the direction for our union. The Socialist Party stands for a complete transformation of Unison’s leadership and the biggest possible victory for the left in these crucial elections.
Although we have been critical of TFRC’s approach on a number of issues, we have nevertheless proposed working together to maximise the possibility of defeating the right. We submitted a programme for a fighting Unison around which the left could organise in the NEC elections, and the election for general secretary which will take place later in the year (see ‘For a fighting Unison’).
The Socialist Party wants a fighting general secretary who will clearly oppose the ‘partnership’ model for members and is prepared to develop a fighting trade union that will face down a Labour government.
Electoral agreement
Unfortunately, TFRC did not agree to adopt this programme. The discussions, whilst largely fraternal, did reveal weaknesses in TFRC’s approach to candidates who may be sitting Labour councillors and who are not openly fighting the cuts in their councils.
They were also not prepared to back a Socialist Party member who supported the women who lodged a complaint of harassment against the ex-president – even though he has since been expelled under the left NEC leadership, subject to his right to appeal.
TFRC have selected Andrea Egan as their candidate in the general secretary election. Socialist Party members will clearly not be bystanders in an election that could have a significant impact on the direction of battles for Unison members in the next five years. We will continue to put forward our ideas for developing a fighting union to the TFRC candidate and during the election campaign.
Seven Socialist Party members will be standing in the NEC elections and TFRC will be standing aside for them. The candidates will stand on our programme and aim to work with TFRC candidates fighting in other constituencies. This will include calling for nomination for nearly all of them, which they have agreed to reciprocate.
Unison members will get the chance to vote for candidates that could make a major difference to the direction the union takes, if they are successfully nominated over the month-long nomination period.
Socialist Party members standing for nomination:
Jim McFarlane – Scotland General seat
Rae Cox – Unison South East reserved seat
Eve Miller – West Midlands reserved seat
Adrian O’Malley – Health general seat
Amy Sage – Police, Probation and Cafcass female seat
Ellie Waple – Disabled Members female Seat
April Ashley – Black Members female seat
In the last week, the current president (a TRFC member) has decided not to stand for re-election to the North West general seat. James Robinson, secretary of Knowsley branch, has put his name forward. Knowsley is one of only two branches nationally that smashed through the Tory turnout threshold in last year’s pay ballot, and some members are currently taking strike action against Livv Housing. James wants to stand on our programme, and we will back him even though TFRC have belatedly found another candidate.
Update 7.2.25: Due to there being no TFRC candidate for the seat, Socialist Party member Balaka Fell-Holden is now seeking nomination for the London reserved seat
