This statement has been published by Unison, Unite and National Education Union (NEU) national and service group executive members
The Labour-led Local Government Association is delivering yet more austerity, and pay deals that, in effect, are year-on-year pay cuts for council workers and support staff.
In light of this, we welcome the decision of Unison, Unite and NEU to ballot their members for strike action to win a just pay rise that is fully funded, rather than expecting cash-strapped schools to make cuts and redundancies to cover it.
What is clear is that for the action to be effective, we need maximum unity and coordination between the unions to ensure that action is as strong as possible.
It will therefore come as a shock to many Unison, Unite and NEU members that, instead of promoting the unity of all local authority workers, following a complaint from Unison, Unite and GMB, the TUC General Council is looking to take disciplinary action against the NEU, threatening the unity needed.
Why? Because the NEU wishes to discuss collaboration, and plans to ballot its school support staff members alongside Unison and Unite, having won a massive strike vote in its indicative ballot.
The TUC claims that the NEU has breached previous TUC decisions, effectively claiming that because the NEU is not a recognised union on the National Joint Council (NJC) that it does not have the right to ballot and fight for its members. This is despite the fact that the TUC report recognises that “a significant number of school support staff have chosen to join the NEU”. The logic of this position undermines the potential for united strike action, and could, if implemented, lead to NEU members working when other school support staff were on strike.
Instead of taking measures against the NEU, Unison, Unite and GMB members would want to see a major joint campaign of action, not only for the pay rise but also to demand the funding to pay for it.
If this decision stands, it undermines the very purpose of trade unions: to bring together workers to fight to defend pay and conditions, as well as to fight to win better for all. The suggestion that union leaderships should be able to prevent other unions recruiting unorganised, low-paid workers to fight for better conditions is detrimental to the whole union movement and a threat to all union organising.
We need maximum unity not division.
The NEU have the right to appeal the decision of the General Council at Congress, and we call on our unions to support that appeal and cease demanding disciplinary measures.
We appeal to all unions that a joint meeting of Unison, Unite and NEU national and sectoral executives be urgently set up to resolve the issue in a constructive manner.
Signed, in a personal capacity:
- Jim McFarlane, Unison National Executive Council
- Balaka Fell-Holden, Unison Local Government Service Group Executive
- Adrian O’Malley, Unison Health Service Group Executive
- Paul Tovey, Unison Health Service Group Executive
- Amy Sage, Unison Police, Probation and Cafcass Service Group Executive
- Manny Dominguez, Unison Community Service Group Executive
- Suzanne Muna, Unite Executive Council
- Len Hockey, Unite Executive Council
- John Williams, Unite Executive Council
- Tanis Belsham-Wray, Unite Executive Council
- Sheila Caffrey, NEU National Executive
- Louise Cuffaro, NEU National Executive
- Dan Warrington, NEU National Executive
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