After hearing the speeches of both candidates, I voted in favour of nominating Christina McAnea. The NEC voted overwhelming for Christina to be our nominee.
In the next few weeks UNISON branches, regional councils and service groups will be voting on who to nominate to this absolutely key position in the union. Please attend these nomination meetings and please support Christina. I will post further on why.
Motions to be debated this morning where themed around "Winning a better future for working people" with debates on wider schools, education, health & safety, prisons, teachers pensions, transport, merchant navy & "The future of football and the need for player engagement" (moved by the PFA - the most highly paid trade unionists in the UK).
Next the TUC General Secretary address by Paul Nowak. He spoke passionately about his joy at the end of 14 years of Tory rule. He welcomed the increase in trade union membership by 90,000 in the last year and the repeal of anti-strike legislation by the new Labour government. He said it shows the difference, unity and solidarity makes. "Keir Starmer and this government has the interests of workers at heart in a way that the Tories never had".
He spoke about a recent visit to Ukraine. He visited destroyed factories, blocks of flats and children hospitals. He attacked the far right such as the Putin apologist, Farage, as as not being patriots, they are frauds. He reminded Congress of his speech last year that his grandfather Joe, was a migrant who served in the Polish Air Force in the second world war.
He welcomed that that there was positive relationships with good employers and we will use new rights to hold bad bosses to account. To put Amazon and every other anti union, anti worker employer on notice, "our movement is coming for you".
Next debates themed "Protecting the right to strike and winning the New Deal". A number of interesting points about the need to control those employers who may pay lip service but do not believe in social dialogue and must be brought to heal. End the current "Wild West" in UK employment law.
Congress finished slightly late for lunch to finish business. I went to the "COVID19 Enquiry - the story so far" fringe and listened to speakers from Thompsons solicitors, UNISON (Gloria Mills), TUC, NASUWT and bereaved families.
Congress reopened at 2.15pm. Theme was "Building a Fairer Economy". More motions on the economy, fair tax, pay, North sea, Industrial strategy, union recognition, climate, Europe, UK steel, Royal mail and public interest. Some of them motions have been composited (merged to save time).
UNISON spoke against Composite 5 moved by Unite regarding the use of fossil fuels since it was felt that it went against our conference policies over climate change. Other Public sector unions also spoke against. The Unite right to reply stated that we had to retain a variable fossil fuel industry until transition takes place or we will simply run out of fuel to cook our food and heat our homes. It went to a card vote. UNISON had 1,187,000 votes (the biggest affiliate). In Favour 2,712,000 v 2 457,000 for Against. Composite was carried.
Motion 20 "Relations with Europe" moved by Prospect was another controversial one. The TUC General Council read out a statement on the motion (written in classical TUC speak). The RMT opposed on grounds that if we were in EU (or had "dynamic alignment" to their social legislation) the anti-privatisation laws currently being passed by the UK would be illegal. Motion was carried overwhelmingly.
At end of conference I went to the Labour Unions fringe which was packed. Unfortunately the main speaker, Angela Rayner MP could not attend but we had a number of excellent speakers at the fringe.
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I have high hopes for 2024 – 12 months of campaigning for UNISON’s Year of LGBT+ workers and for a national care service, securing pay deals across all public services and a general election that will push the chaotic Tories out of Westminster and bring in a new government.
A new government is a must for our members and for our public services. Our NHS, schools, local councils and emergency services are on their knees and stuck in a state of crisis. The current government’s legacy is one of slashing jobs, squeezing budgets, and falling living standards for millions of working people. We need a Labour government that will rebuild our public services, put workers first with a new deal for working people and create a national care service.
Campaigning for that change in government will be a big part of our mission this year, but we won’t let election fever take over our daily task of fighting for our members’ pay and conditions. Day in, day out, our activists and organisers are supporting members in workplaces across the UK, and our teams in head office are mounting legal challenges, influencing politicians, preparing campaigns and helping members when they need us most.
We’ll also be celebrating our Year of LGBT+ workers in UNISON style – continuing to be loud and proud against homophobia and transphobia, and ensuring that UNISON always remains the best trade union for LGBT+ public service workers.
And later this year, there’s something that every working member can get involved with. From 22 April to 17 May, voting will be open for your representatives on UNISON’s service group executives (SGEs) – the lay leaders who decide on campaigns, pay claims, strike ballots and industrial action. Ahead of that member ballot, from next Monday (8 January) until 9 February, branches can nominate their preferred candidates.
Our SGEs are so important in UNISON. They’re powerful groups of activists that keep UNISON with you throughout your working life, campaigning for fair pay and conditions, safe and healthy working conditions, job security, work-life balance, equal pay and against discrimination.
So if you want some more new year’s resolutions, here’s two for you – have your say in UNISON’s SGE elections and get involved in our Year of LGBT+ workers activities that will be taking place throughout 2024.
From everyone in UNISON, we hope you have a happy, healthy and successful 2024".
Check out this website https://www.oneunison.org/ and sign up for regular updates, articles and features. More info to follow.
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Trust you are well
I'm writing to express my concern and dismay about the President Paul Holmes addressing Women's Conference next week.
It is my understanding that he has now been dismissed by the Employer following allegations of Bullying and harassment of women he managed.
I also understand that the two Vice Presidents offer him their unconditional support. This is unfortunate and they should at least have the courtesy to be impartial given the complainants are themselves women and members.
All Trade Unionists as I do embrace positive change. Sadly the faction group now in control of our NEC, Time for Real Change, seem to have forgotten some of the fundamentals that is democracy and accountability.
I regret I have have had to write to you but
believe that this can only reflect badly on UNISON in the long-term and we
cannot allow women members over 75% to lose trust in our great union.
With Kind Regards",
After the UK’s involvement in Afghanistan over the last two decades, we cannot fail them now. But this needs a concerted effort, because the Westminster government is already pushing plans through Parliament to make claiming asylum almost impossible.
The Nationality and Borders Bill – introduced this summer – seeks to punish the most desperate refugees. Those who make ‘irregular’ journeys – or in other words, the only possible route to safety – will be treated as criminals.
As we have seen all too starkly, when people are forced to flee their homes and countries in fear of their lives, they have hours not days, and certainly not years. As this crisis is immediate, the government’s announcement of restricting help to only 5,000 this year, and 20,000 over several years, will be too late for many who need urgent help now.
In recent years, refugees fleeing conflict and persecution have been met with hostility and hate by governments. UNISON strongly opposes proposals to threaten criminal charges and four-year prison terms for the most desperate asylum seekers.
Together with plans to give them more insecure and limited refuge in the UK, and to worsen the condition of detention centres, it is a dishonourable attempt to extend the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ to refugees.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has warned that these plans will undermine the 1951 Refugee Convention and has called for an urgent rethink. It is shameful that this warning was issued at all.
The treatment of asylum seekers and refugees is a litmus test for any government. The response should be humane, offering compassion and a safe haven – not criminal charges, threats and the vermin-infested accommodation that many asylum seekers in the UK have had to endure.
UNISON is often the first port of call for vulnerable groups of people, because we have built a union that offers care and compassion wherever our members work. Where governments fail in their humanitarian and moral duty, it is ordinary people who step in.
And this is true of our members, who are often distressed that they cannot do more to support refugees and refugee families.
UNISON is proud to be a central part of the movement for humanity and compassion. We are urging the government to fund targeted support for women and girls and the promotion of human and labour rights, by restoring aid that was recently cut by £78m.
We are also calling for Afghan asylum seekers to be given refuge in our communities here in the UK, and for MPs from all parties to defeat the government’s cruel and inhumane plans for refugees and asylum seekers".
"Think of the working-class "women of Glasgow leading rent strikes in 1915. The machinists at Ford, downing tools to get what they deserved in the 1960s. And the Greenham Common peace protesters of the 1980s or the care workers taking to the streets to demand equal pay in 2018.
Every International Women’s Day, all of us – women and men together – celebrate women’s history and recognise our global struggles. And we commit to keep working together to win.
International Women’s Day this year is Monday 8 March and the theme around the world is #ChooseToChallenge, and that’s exactly what one million working women do every day through UNISON.
Together, we take our place at the table, challenge the status quo and secure change that improves all of our lives.
Right now, UNISON is fighting for a legal right to 10 days of paid carer’s leave from day one of the job, together with the right to request flexible working from day one, together with a decent system of affordable and accessible childcare that helps women stay in work.
Why? Because it’s right and necessary. And, aside from an already yawning gender pay gap and over-representation among low-paid workers, women have been paying the price of this pandemic.
Women are on the frontline keeping us safe through COVID – three quarters of our NHS is staffed by women, and we make up the overwhelming majority of care workers. Not to mention the thousands of other roles that keep our country running.
Women in all jobs have ended up juggling work and caring responsibilities, expected to do more than ever with the same number of hours in the day. And all for lower pay.
Official figures from the first lockdown show women were more likely to be furloughed, and therefore taking a 20% pay cut; more likely to take on the lion’s share of childcare and homeschooling, and less likely to spend time on paid work than men.
And of course, the pre-pandemic picture was no prettier, with inflexible work that saw women disproportionately cut their hours, take unpaid leave to cover childcare and elder care and watch their progression falter.
It doesn’t have to be like this. Stronger employment rights, greater flexibility and a decent childcare system would help us all better balance our lives, whatever the circumstances. And change is imperative if we want to kickstart our economy after this crisis.
Women have done incredible things for a really, really long time, but we’re not martyrs – we’re fighting for change.
Let’s #ChooseToChallenge the burdens that fall so excessively on working women – and all of us carry on working together in UNISON for a better system for everyone".
"For more than 150 years trade unions have campaigned for better conditions and workers’ rights.
But no major industrial union has ever been led by a woman.
Christina McAnea is hoping to change that. She is standing to be the general secretary of Unison.
If she wins, she will be the first female boss of one of the big four: Unison, Unite, the GMB and Usdaw.
Ms McAnea said: “There’s an opportunity to make history here.
“What is more extraordinary in a union where 80% of the members are women, I am still the only woman standing. I am amazed by that.”
Ms McAnea is hoping to succeed Dave Prentis, who has led the 1.3 million-strong union for 20 years. She said there is still a “1970s view of what leader should look like”. Unison’s assistant general secretary said: “When I was doing hustings there was this ‘we should be more like the miners’ union’.
“Really? In a union of 80% women, where members are providing public services, many are low-paid so going on strike is a big issue, there’s still an old-fashioned view of the heroic male leader.”
Ms McAnea said of her leadership credentials: “I think I am the best person because I can point to a track record of delivery. I am probably one of the most senior negotiators in the country, male or female.” Those negotiations included leading the opposition to NHS reforms. And she was involved in the first national strike by health workers for two decades to force Jeremy Hunt to raise staff pay.
Ms McAnea was born in Glasgow into a working class family. She left school at 15 and went to university in her 20s.
She was inspired by firebrand Scottish trade unionist Jimmy Reid. Her union career began at GMB. And she is now frontrunner to take over as Unison boss, with the backing of 216 branches – ahead of closest rival Roger McKenzie on 104.
She is the only female candidate standing in a union were one million of our 1.3 million members are women.
You should have received your ballot paper by now via royal mail at your home address. If you have not it by now ring the helpline free on 0800 0 857 857 or on textphone 0800 0 967 968. The helpline opens on 10 November and closes on 20 November. Ballot papers must be returned by 27 November (but if you have a ballot paper please compete now and send it back by the freepost envelope)
If you lose the pre-paid envelope sent with the ballot paper you can return for free using your own and just write on envelope "Freepost Civica Election Services" and pop it in the post.
I am supporting Christina because I think she is the better candidate but also I think it is about time that a big union had a women in charge.
None of the top 5 trade unions have ever(repeat ever) had a female General secretary (GS).
In unison 1 million out of our 1.3 million members are women.
Let's break the union glass ceiling and elect an experienced and competent women as our next GS.
Vote for the best candidate and also for her to be the 1st female General Secretary ever of any of the big 5 trade unions.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/18/jacinda-ardern-eases-into-second-term-amid-relief-in-new-zealand-at-election-landslide
(Christina is in my view the best candidate but also she is the only woman standing to be the first female General Secretary of the largest union in the UK which has 1.3 million members of whom 1 million are women.
There has Never been a female General Secretary of any of the biggest 5 trade unions in this country. Never...)
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