Jim McFarlane, Unison NEC member, personal capacity
Delegates from across the country attended Unison’s conference for local government workers in Brighton 14-15 June. A number of motions highlighted the crisis in the sector after years of chronic underfunding and outsourcing. Socialist Party members spoke to put forward the fighting approach needed.
In a debate on the funding crisis in schools, Catherine Clarke from Southampton highlighted the need for a campaign to win the funding needed, involving all trade unions building joint strike action. She pointed out that Labour has failed to adequately support schools. Without a struggle from the unions, a change of Labour leadership from Starmer to Andy Burnham would change very little.
Local government reorganisation
In the ‘Young Workers in Local Government Reorganisation’ debate, Ellie Waple from Surrey County described the threat local government reorganisation poses for young workers in particular. Delegates shouldn’t accept the employers’ arguments that there is no money. Young workers and service users did not create council debts, but joint struggles could prevent the loss of jobs and services. “If Labour and other councillors won’t fight for us then they should move aside for those who will.”
David Ellis from Birmingham – scene of the historic bin strike against a Labour council threatening fire and rehire and wage cuts – rightly asked the question why Unison conferences have been blocked from discussing our relationship with the Labour Party.
The challenge of defending members in councils controlled by Reform UK was posed a number of times. Angela Waller from Kirklees branch outlined the threat Reform posed not just to jobs and services but also council workers’ pensions.
She said it is easy to point out the incompetence of so many Reform councillors, but we need working-class unity against attacks on the working class, and for unions to adopt fighting strategies and build an activist base amongst the growing number of workers who have joined the union since Reform have taken control.
School support staff
The only contentious debate over the two days was over Unison’s relationship with the National Education Union (NEU) in organising school support staff. A motion was passed condemning the NEU for recruiting and organising school staff. But a sizeable number of delegates – around a third of the conference – opposed this, pointing to the need for unity against the government and employers.
Saffy Hill-Chambers from Surrey outlined why Unison should be working alongside the 65,000 NEU support staff members, and that driving a wedge between workers benefits only the employers. “Do we not have a duty to think of the interests of the trade union movement as a whole, of the working class as a whole… We need solidarity and unity in schools to fight for all school staff”.
Trade Unionists for a New Party fringe meeting
Catherine Clarke, Southampton Unison, personal capacity
The ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party’ fringe meeting at Unison local government conference was convened to enable an open discussion about political representation. Socialist Party member Saffy Hill-Chambers from Surrey local government Unison chaired the meeting, highlighting that similar discussions are occurring throughout the country.
Unison NEC member Jim McFarlane, a member of Socialist Party Scotland, introduced the discussion, speaking in a personal capacity. He outlined collapse of support for Starmer’s Labour in May’s elections, after continuing Tory austerity measures, including in the NHS and local government. He warned of the rise of electoral support for Reform, including among Unison members, which is exploiting the political vacuum created by the failures of Labour, and of the SNP in Scotland.
Although only 13.7% of Unison members pay into the ‘Labour Link’ fund, this minority dictates union political policy. Motions to debate the union’s relationship with Labour had been ruled off the conference agenda. He called on Unison general secretary Andrea Egan to deliver on her pledge to review this relationship. Pointing to Unite the Union’s decision to cut its contribution to Labour by £600,000, he asked why Unison continues to fund a political party that does not represent trade union interests.
In a wide-ranging discussion, one Unison activist said members who had supported Andrea Egan would start to have doubts if there is not action on achieving her manifesto aims. A member of the Broxtowe Alliance, a Unison member, reported that they won seats after 20 councillors left Labour.
Socialist Party members outlined how, if unions were to use their funds flexibly, they could back candidates who genuinely support working-class policies. Whereas current Unison rules mean the union cannot even back its own members if they run as independent or socialist candidates.
The case was made for a debate within the union, and for a trade union conference to debate political representation. Socialist Party members put forward the case for a new workers’ party based on organised workers in the unions, with an alternative that puts public ownership, workers’ rights, an end to council cuts, and socialist policies at the centre of its platform.
- The ‘Trade Unionists for a New Party in Unison’ petition was relaunched at the conference
