#UNDC13 Chair of Standing Order's tickling stick

Here we have the Chair of UNISON Standing Orders Committee, Clytus Williams, giving his traditional Friday morning final report to conference with the aid of music and a Knotty Ash tickling stick. 

We were after all in Liverpool and I think his version of the Ken Dodd classic was his best SO report ever. 

How can I ever forget the words  

"Happiness to me is a Group debate,  A Composite that we all rate".

 

#UNDC13 Nothing too good for the workers - Friday am

This picture is of my messy desk on the NEC platform in front of the UNISON NDC conference hall on the Friday morning.

When I arrived that morning I found this bottle of Champagne on it.

There was no message with it so I asked colleagues if they had seen who had left it there? I was told a man with grey hair and glasses had left it for me (which ruled in 90% of male delegates).

I thought that I may have won it in a raffle but have since found out it was a thank you gift from someone who I had helped out when he got himself in a little bit of bother a while ago. It was not needed but a nice gesture. 

#UNDC13 Greater London UNISON NDC Social - Wednesday late

I am well behind on my posting on last weeks UNISON NDC conference so will try and catch up over the weekend.

Top UNISON social of the conference was of course that of London Region. The Thistle hotel was an excellent location with a private bar and disco area with a balcony overlooking the Mersey.

We all had a free first drink due to the hotel messing up the regional delegate meeting on the Monday  evening.

Conference is not just about speeches, debates and fringes. Delegates have been known to have the odd drink and to let their hair down once or thrice.

Proceeds from (£5) ticket sales, advertising and raffle went to UNISON Welfare/There for you.

Many thanks to regional staff for running around and organising it. 

#UNDC13 Pay & Privatisation Fringe - Wednesday Lunchtime

For some reason I forgot to take a picture of this lunch time fringe? First off was UNISON Assistant General Secretary, Karen Jennings, who opened this important fringe on Pay & Privatisation by making the arguments against the lies and propaganda of the Daily Mail & Taxpayers (aka Evaders) Alliance and dispel the myth that in the public sector "pay" is more than in the private sector. You have to measure like with like.

A recent report by Swansea University showed that in the public sector workers are actually paid 2% less than in the private sector. You need to fully job evaluate jobs in both sectors to properly compare. If you do this you see massive pay advantages in the private sector and especially in manufacturing.

Remember it is a fiction that the public sector are paid more.

UNISON National officer Gavin Edwards from the "Bargaining and Support unit" detailed what they can do to help branches and stewards. You can get background information and local reports on private sector bidders for public contracts and find out what has gone wrong with these contractors elsewhere. Email the unit and you will get a report back also they have access to the IDS pay data base so you can compare and contrast pay rates.

#UNDC13 Amendment E.1 Annual Life of Brian Wrecking Amendment - Wednesday

It was good to see that the attempt to sneak into the "Alternatives to Austerity" composite a nonsensical amendment to nationalise the "top 150 companies" was comprehensively defeated at conference.

Capitalism was saved! I am sure that the top 150 bosses were so, so  relieved that this amendment was not passed that they were finally able to sleep soundly in their beds.

#UNDC13 Affordable, Safe, Adequate, Secure Housing for All - Wednesday

This is my speech to conference while moving a NDC amendment to to Motion 33 which was orignally from my branch and was adopted by London Region at our AGM.

Conference, your NEC believes that it is important to add to the main motion's call for more and better homes for all, the evidence found in the recent report by the Affordable Homes Alliance, Housing Voice, which is supported by UNISON.

The report evidenced the need for a mass house building target of at least 250,000 homes per year for the next 20 years - including at least 80,000 local authority and housing association homes.

Conference, this target is achievable. The simple fact of the matter is that there is a desperate and absolute housing shortage in this land. And there is no good reason for this shortage.

Remember the first Labour government 1945-1950 despite the economy being ruined by the 6 previous years of total war built one million new homes. While at the same time it built the National Health Service and the modern welfare state. In the 1950’s it was not uncommon for 300,000 new homes to be built, every single year. At its peak in my lifetime in 1968 we built 353,000 homes. The great majority at affordable rents or mortgages.

Conference, while I don’t think anyone here really doubts that we will need increases in progressive taxation in order to pay for all the things that we want to improve our society - to get people back at work, building things, making things, doing things of value to our community rather than just rotting on the dole.

Which will save public money and get the economy growing again. We also need to look at different ways of funding the new homes we so desperately need.

Housing Voice also evidenced and called for at least £5 billion of the billions of pounds currently being spent by the Bank of England on buying government gilts – the so called Quantitative Easing (QE) programme. To be invested instead in low cost housing bonds or other similar measures that that can be used to fund new build instead of lying around in bank vaults.

We should also mobilise the trillions of pounds in workers public and private pension funds to invest in homes rather than shinny new City office blocks

Conference, the simple fact of the matter is that we face a housing famine and that for too long housing need has been ignored. We need to build more affordable, safe, adequate secure homes for all and we need to think out of the box a little on how to fund it.

Conference please support this amendment please support this motion. (both were passed. Picture of vote from unison website)

#UNDC13 Austerity Uncovered Bus at UNISON Conference - Wednesday morning

Early start on Wednesday morning with photo call with UNISON members at the TUC "Austerity Uncovered" bus which is touring the UK gathering evidence that "Austerity is hurting, it isn't working".

We were welcomed by the Liverpool socialist choir and joined by Labour Mayor of Liverpool (and Unison member) Joe Anderson.

Check out the website to find out when the bus is near you.

#undc13 Branch Resource Review fringe - Tuesday

Sorry this has been posted late but it has been a busy few days. Picture is of NEC Chair of Finance Mike Hayes at the fringe on Tuesday evening.

Mike spoke about the compelling need to change the way Unison resources its branches.

There is internal and external pressures for change.  From our auditors and from the tax office. Our processes are not safe enough to protect members money.

The fringe went really well and I was pleased that the finance rule changes went through on Thursday. See what happens with motion 107 later on this afternoon.

#UNDC13 "Do they mean us? The squeezed middle and the new politics of pay" fringe

Picture from fringe on Tuesday lunch time at UNISON National Delegate Conference 2013 chaired by Jane Carolan from NEC.

First speaker was James Plunkett (left) from the Resolution Foundation.

He reported on the collapse in pay increases since 2000 (Not just since the 2008 recession) and pointed out that only 1/3rd of welfare cuts have taken place so far. He described a "Epidemic of low pay" which he believes is structural. While there has been growth in high pay jobs, there has been a reduction in middle pay jobs and growth in low pay jobs.  He believes that better training is not going to be enough to change things. Why does Norway have 1/2 the number of low pay jobs than the UK?  It is because they have made different choices than us.

James thought that a way forward is the level of the Living wage but he does not believe it should be compulsory but there should be transparency and companies that can afford to pay should be named and shamed if they don't.

Next was  Faiza Shaheen from the New Economic Foundation (3rd from left). She agreed about the massive low pay problem. Not only is there the cost to individuals who face the choice of eat or heat there is an wider economic cost.  The cost of tax credits to subsidise low pay have increased by over 50%.  While even the IMF recognise that low pay has resulted in low demand in our economy. She linked pay levels to union density. The higher the density the better the pay. In the public sector unions have done good work especially on low paid but it is still a low pay sector despite the outsourcing of 400k jobs to the private sector. Faiza thought that looking at wage ratios may be better than the level of living wage. 

She posed the question - why is the gender gap bin the private sector between men and women significantly higher than the public sector?

Final speaker was Assistant General Secretary Karen Jennings (4th left). Karen reminded the fringe that UNISON use to be criticised within the labour movement for its support of the minimum wage and although it is not enough the minimum wage has made a real difference to the lives of the working poor. The growth in the pay gulf has led to many of the poor being dependent on food banks and payday loans. Despite the "bile" of the Tory press about public sector pay the reality is a massive increase in claims from our members to UNISON welfare.

A paramedic now earns  £5k less in real terms than 2010.  While a teaching assistant is £7k worse off. The way out of poverty is now not hard work. No matter how hard they work many are still stuck in poverty. The answer involves the living wage, spread of collective bargaining and ending of employment practises such as no zero hour contracts.

But we also need to get people to understand more about the politics of pay.  In a recent YouGov poll people listed their top 5 priorities.  They complained about high prices for goods and services but only listed pay as their 5th priority. They failed to make the connection between being unable to afford things and their low wages.

In the Q&A I asked about the possible role of wage councils in addressing this problem? Other northern European countries still have such bodies and have better pay levels, especially in industries which are hard to organise. James thought they could have a role. Another member reminded everyone that it was not the the traditional low paid who have difficulties. Even if you earn £30k per year. James said that the housing model for the squeezed middle is completely broken. They are unable to buy and pay high rents with no security. He is looking into the role of institutional investment in the rental market.