Monday, May 17, 2010

UNISON Members: Vote Dave Prentis for General Secretary

Ballot papers for the UNISON General Secretary election should have been sent out today to our 1.3 million members. I will be supporting the re-election of Dave Prentis and I urge all UNISON members to do as well.

Dave has been nominated by a massive 371 branches, 11 regional councils, 7 service groups and the National Executive Council. All of us in public services are facing the battle of lives. We are facing not only savage job cuts but politically motivated attacks on our pay, our pensions and our basic terms and conditions.

He is the only candidate who is a leader and who is not divisive and will be able to unite the whole union around effective opposition to the cuts and not pointless self indulgent grandstanding.

I think it is vital that not only do we re-elect Dave but that there is also a thumping big majority to give him maximum credibility as our chief negotiator.

Please encourage all your work colleagues to vote for Dave (but do not of course use any union resources to do so).

8 comments:

Bill said...

Hate to point this out, but the general secretary is not the leader of Unison - the rulebook does not describe the Secretary (a secretary, mark, not a general) as leader, and explicitly makes an object of "To promote and establish a member-led union and to carry out and fulfil decisions made by members in a spirit of unity and accountability."

So, I'll vote for a secretary who'll do as telt by the members.

Anonymous said...

already voted for Dave

John Gray said...

Hi Bill

So you don't want anyone with leadership skills to be secretary but you will vote for one who will do what he is told by his non-union Central Committee?

Fair enough.

take all sorts

:)

Bill said...

I don't want the secretary to be a leader, at all. It's not a leader, and it's contrary to the rulebook to describe it so.

As I've said before, I think political parties and trade unions are incompatable, and will probably just spil my ballot, because it shouldn't matter who is ge. sec., there should be no effect on policy, because they should simply be obeying conference.

Bill said...

p.s. I should add that this has long been the view of The Socialist Party - I'd be as concerned as you were Militant to try and become the 'leadership' of the union.

Anonymous said...

I don't get what Bill is going on about as regards General Secretary? The post in the rule book is General Secretary.

And I'm all for a member-led union, not one in which minuscule groups of activists try to lead members down the dead end road of revolution.

Bill said...

Anonymous,

very simply - the general secretary is not the leader of unison, and IMNSHO any candidate who describes the job as being a leader clearly has insufficient grasp of what the job entails to be worth voting for.

John Gray said...

Hi Bill

of course the GS of UNISON is its leader?