Fred Leplat, UNISON London Regional Committee (personal capacity)
Panic at the prospect of this month's P Convention of the Trade Union left
re-opening the debate about union links to the Labour Party has led UNISON leaders to declare the meeting 'out of bounds' to the union's members.
In an unprecedented move the UNISON leadership has issued a circular to all branches instructing them not to sponsor the convention or pay expenses for delegates.
The debate to be held at the convention on whether unions should still try to "reclaim Labour" or whether unions' political funds should be opened up to allow support for socialist candidates, goes to the heart of the future of UNISON.
The current UNISON leadership won a ..... large majority at the union's national conference in June 2003 for its proposal to maintain the current arrangements, with some minor improvements, to maintain the Affiliated Political Fund (now known as Labour Link). Its argument that UNISON could force the New Labour government to make concessions on the union's key policies, carried the day.
Despite this assurance, and winning the vote at the Labour Party conference in September against New Labour's proposals to set up Foundation Hospitals, the union saw the government promptly ramming the proposals through Parliament.
Although many Labour MPs voted against, the government's majority was smaller than the total number of Labour MPs in the UNISON group of MPs.
This showed that the improvements of
.••• the accountability in the functioning of the Affiliated Political Fund had failed to ensure that the MPs supported by UNISON backed the union's key policies
As a result many activists in UNISON are asking again why it is that the union gave more than E3million to the Labour Party last year, while the Labour government is still attacking public services and jobs.
And now discussions at the Convention of the Trade Union Left are set to re-fuel the debate about the future of UNISON's political funds.
Secretaries of UNISON branches that have already sponsored the Convention are being threatened under the rules with "robust action to protect the union's politica integrity". The union leadership is claiming that the Convention is not a debate but a ruse to garner electoral support for the
•••
GMB NO TO 3% Socialist Alliance.
Because of these threats, UNISON's London regional Committee has had to withdraw its official "sponsorship" of the Convention. Instead it has decided to maintain its support for the initiative by endorsing that Regional Convenor Geoff Martin should address the conference on behalf of the region, and by asking all branches to encourage their stewards to attend!
Just like over-protective parents, UNISON leaders have found that the best way to TONY THATCHER JOB SNATCHER'
UNISON COUNCIL WORKERS DESERVE 6% make something interesting is to forbid the attending of it.
As a result of this publicity, registrations from UNISON branches have rocketed Geoff Martin, London Region Convenor, said: "I'm speaking at it. I don't buy the argument that it's in contravention of UNISON rules to engage in discussion with others on the left.
"If it's now a crime to share a platform with Bob Crow, I'll see you all on the early shift at the salt mine." RMT