Amy Sage, Socialist Party member in Unison
At this year’s Labour Party conference, a motion on Palestine moved by Unison general secretary Christina McAnea was passed, calling Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. The motion demanded an arms embargo, suspension of trade with Israel, and that the UK government “employ all means reasonably available” to stop the slaughter. It was a strong statement and a sign that pressure from below is forcing even the more right-wing trade union leaders to reflect the widespread anger at Labour’s stance backing the Israeli state’s destruction of Gaza.
But passing a motion is one thing. Turning it into real change is another. Labour conference decisions aren’t binding. They can be ignored or watered down by the party leadership and Keir Starmer has shown again and again that he’s willing to do both. From public ownership to repealing anti-union laws, past conference decisions have been ignored if they clash with the Labour leadership’s attempts to represent the interests of big business bosses.
Still not delivered
Labour was elected promising to bring in a raft of pro-worker reforms, but over a year later they still haven’t been implemented. Big business has piled on the pressure in an attempt to water down promises like banning zero-hour contracts and rights at work from day one of employment. And all the Tory anti-union laws are still on the books, including the undemocratic strike ballot thresholds.
Unison is one of Labour’s biggest donors. Yet the party leadership routinely ignores the union’s positions on key issues, from Gaza to NHS privatisation to pay. That a motion moved by the general secretary herself can be brushed aside shows that the union has no real democratic influence on the party.
Unison members’ money could instead be used to help build a genuine political alternative, one that stands for working-class interests and socialist policies, not the priorities of the bosses and the banks. Unison, and every trade union, should use their political funds to only support those politicians and candidates who genuinely fight for our class. Workers’ money shouldn’t bankroll a party that backs austerity, anti-union laws, and imperialist wars.
Instead of pleading with Labour’s leadership, the unions should take the next step by building a new mass workers’ party, rooted in the trade unions and that stands openly for socialism: for public ownership, workers’ rights, and international solidarity. It’s time for the organised working class to break with Labour and build its own party, one that stands firmly on the side of workers, not the bosses.
