Socialist Party members in Usdaw
The first day and a half of the Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) of retail and distribution union Usdaw reflected what members face in the turbulence of capitalism in Britain and internationally.
The impact of Trump’s wars in the Middle East was felt in the ADM debates. Both the hit to the cost of living that will be increasingly felt as the year goes on, and the knock-on effects on retail and distribution workers’ jobs – from abuse faced by petrol station workers as fuel prices soar, to delivery workers carrying heavier loads as people stock up, worrying about potential shortages.
In the debate on understaffing, speaker after speaker referenced the profits being made by companies. Replying to the debate, general secretary Joanne Thomas commented: “Minimum staffing means maximum profit”.
There were increased references to industrial action in the conference, with a delegate calling for work-to-rule when self-checkouts are understaffed, and another referring to walking out when there are not enough workers on duty.
‘Early discussions’ were reported to be taking place about a new strike fund, in the wake of the Tetrosyl strike.
As the Usdaw leadership tried to burnish Labour’s credentials ahead of the May elections, most of the Monday morning was taken up with a timetabled politics session, including a speech by Keir Starmer and a ‘chat’ with Kate Dearden, under-secretary for employment rights. Unlike previous conferences, questions to the latter were not put directly from delegates but from those submitted to a suggestion box on the Labour Party stall. This meant that over an hour of conference time was taken up with no delegates speaking!
Among the achievements Starmer listed was breakfast clubs in every primary school. But the government’s scheme only applies to 1,250 primary schools out of around 21,000 across the country!
Unlike the more enthusiastic response Starmer received in 2024 when Usdaw members were desperate to see the back of the Tories, this year was far more muted, with sections of the audience remaining in their seats and not applauding.
Socialist Party member and Broad Left secretary, Iain Dalton, spoke to a 20-strong Socialist Party fringe meeting. Much of the discussion focused around the crisis of political representation. One attendee argued that we needed to support Labour in order to block Reform, and others raised the Greens and ex-Labour independents.
But as Iain explained, the key demand for Usdaw and other trade unions is to ensure candidates they are supporting fully back union policy, and that parliamentary groups are reconstituted on the basis of full support for union policy and democratic accountability to members. A trade union conference on political representation could discuss common measures to be taken as well.
- Over 60 copies of the Socialist have been bought by those attending conference so far.
