Ambulance workers striking in January 2023. Photo: Paul Mattsson
Ambulance workers striking in January 2023. Photo: Paul Mattsson

Vote for NEC candidates to end Labour austerity

Hugo Pierre, Unison local government service group executive (personal capacity)

Unison members are facing more years of vicious cuts to jobs, pay and services. The election of Starmer’s Labour and the budgets of chancellor Rachel Reeves are demonstrating that the general election result has changed nothing fundamentally for public sector workers. The promises of our own leaders that Labour would make a difference has completely disappeared.

Health secretary Wes Streeting has added to this agenda by declaring thousands of jobs must go in hospitals. And he expects this year’s below-inflation pay rise must be paid for in full by more job cuts.

Unison members will be watching the actions of the Labour council in Birmingham, backed to the hilt by this government, attacking frontline council workers’ pay and conditions. Bin workers face up to an £8,000 pay cut and Labour declares a ‘major incident’ rather than resolve the council’s funding crisis.

The leadership of our union has to back our members – our general secretary believes the best approach is through trying to work in partnership with the Labour government. We need a National Executive Council (NEC) that is prepared to organise to fight.

A serious campaign to defend public services, backed by all public sector unions, could force this government to provide the money needed.

This year’s Unison NEC election is our chance to win a leadership that is prepared to stand up to Starmer’s government. After years of failing to mount the fight we needed, in the 2021 NEC elections, members booted out the right-wing leadership, after decades of domination.

To strengthen the position of the left-led NEC and give the leadership needed by members, a fighting programme and a real strategy for action is needed.

Later this year, there will also be the election for general secretary. Christina McAnea, elected in 2020, was the ‘continuity candidate’ of the old right wing. Now we have the chance to win an NEC and general secretary that will stand up to Starmer and fight for members.

The Socialist Party is part of the fight to transform Unison into a fighting left union.

Increasing the number of Socialist Party members on the NEC will help win the programme and strategy necessary.

Public services not warfare

Councils across the UK are facing a crisis after years of not fighting Tory austerity cuts. Now Labour is failing to put in the money needed to stop cuts to jobs and services. More and more councils are unable to manage their budgets.

  • We need a union leadership that will fight for the money our members need to run services by backing ‘needs-based, no-cuts budgets’ and national action that doesn’t leave branches to fight on their own
  • Rather than defending our NHS, Labour are taking the first steps to breaking it up. Labour’s plans to sack thousands of our members in NHS England and other health bodies will not lead to much-needed extra money for frontline health teams in hospitals, ambulance services, primary care and health prevention. Instead it will prepare the ground for more privatisation.
  • We need a union leadership that will back our members to fight against job losses and privatisation, and for the staff needed to end the NHS crisis

All services that Unison members provide are in a funding crisis Labour aren’t dealing with: School support staff are always in the firing line when budgets freeze up; hundreds of universities could go bust; water companies are facing bankruptcy; probation services and police back office staffing are severely underfunded; local transport is being cut. We know the money is there – in 2024 the FTSE 100 companies paid out £89 billion to their shareholders!

  • We need our union leadership   to fight for the money for our public services and demand Labour makes the rich pay
  • We oppose the cuts in our services to be used for increased military spending

Co-ordinated action to win back lost pay

Our pay is worth at least 20% less than it was in 2009, and inflation is still making it worse. But the strike action taken by many trade unionists, including our ambulance and hospital members in 2022, shows that striking works!

This year, Labour wants to impose a 2.8% pay cap with no extra funding to our services.

  • We need a union leadership that will co-ordinate inside our union and with others for national strike action to win pay campaigns to beat the cost-of-living crisis
  • We need a fight to end low pay, endemic amongst our members who are proven essential workers. We need a leadership that will develop a determined campaign for £15 an hour now!

Union democracy – organise and fight

We need a vibrant union where members debate and discuss how best to run campaigns that win at branch, regional and national level. Our members need the right to campaign to develop and change policy so we can break the obstacles we face to win our campaigns.

  • We need a leadership that allows branches to organise with other branches, that boosts our strike funds so members in dispute aren’t starved back to work, and that builds energetic national campaigns that are member-led
  • We consistently call for the election of all union officials, paid the average wage of a skilled worker, to keep those that help organise our union in touch with the members they represent

Tory anti-union laws

Labour has so far failed on their promise to repeal the most recent anti-trade union laws that could mean we help managers to organise members to work when we’re on strike. Even the Tory turnout thresholds are still in place – they should have been repealed on day one!

  • We need a leadership that fights to repeal the Tory turnout thresholds immediately, and all the anti-trade union laws

End discrimination

Our members provide services to all in our communities and we need united community campaigns to fight for the resources we need. We oppose all discrimination and attacks.

  • We need a union leadership that is prepared to back trade union struggle and mobilise or members against right-wing populism that wants to smash our services! That means building an anti-austerity political alternative too

Time to use our political muscle

Labour politicians in councils across the UK are choosing to attack members’ jobs rather than fight for the money we need for our services. Labour politicians in Westminster are choosing to attack working-class living standards as they attack benefits and disability payments rather than take the money from the rich.

We don’t need politicians who take our money then sack our members and won’t fight for the wealth in society to be under democratic control to build our public services.

  • Unison should only support candidates that support us
  • A bloc of MPs in parliament that champion workers’ demands would be a good step towards the new workers’ party we need

We need a National Executive Council prepared to stand up to Starmer’s Labour government and fight for pay, jobs and services. No more cuts and privatisation!

Please vote for the following socialist candidates:

  • April Ashley – Black members female seat (standing for re-election)
  • Balaka Fell-Holden – London reserved seat
  • Jim McFarlane – Scotland general 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

Please also vote for other candidates standing for a fighting union:

  • James Robinson – North West general seat
  • and candidates on the ‘Time for real Change’ list standing in other seats