Freedom fighter Denis Goldberg at Community H.E.A.R.T event at South Africa House

The picture collage is from last night's fundraiser at the South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square for Community HEART and the "Children of a Rainbow Nation".  The development charity Community HEART  was founded by former ANC political prisoner,  82 year old Denis Goldberg, who was the guest speaker. He also spoke at the Greater London UNISON Regional Council on Wednesday, which I missed due to a NJC clash but know that people who heard him at the meeting were near to tears by his speech.

UNISON had a really good presence at the fundraiser including our former Deputy General Secretary, Keith Sonnet .

Denis gave a fantastic "matter of fact" speech about the struggle for freedom in South Africa, its very difficult present and future - and being tried for his life with Nelson Mandela and other comrades during the Rivonia Trial.

Denis spent 22 years in jail for his beliefs. It is inspiring and amazing that he is not angry and bitter about his treatment but still remains positive and optimistic.

I particularly liked the contribution of the speaker who reminded everyone that at the infamous prison Robben Island a collected works of Shakespeare was smuggled in disguised as a Bible. The political prisoners all read this book and highlighted their favourite passages. This was Nelson Mandela's favourite "Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once".

Many thanks to my former UNISON NEC colleague, Isobel McVicar, for all her hard work organising such events. 

Goodbye and thanks Keith: Hello and welcome Frances

On Wednesday evening after the NEC meetings I went to a reception to mark the retirement of UNISON Deputy General Secretary Keith Sonnet. Keith has served the Labour Movement for 40 years and I think we all wish him well in the retirement. Even though I doubt very much we have seen the last of him.

I had a later meeting that I couldn't get out of, so I was only able to have a brief chat and handshake. I don't know Keith that well but it was really nice that he remembered that I had helped (in a very small way) during the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) negotiations in 2008. We also discussed the new LGPS 2014 scheme and the incredibily good deal that UNISON had negotiated for members.

Coincidentally this week Frances O'Grady was appointed as General Secretary of the British Trade Union Congress. She happens to be the first female GS of the TUC which is I think an important landmark occasion in trade union history. I have seen Frances speak and promote progressive labour politics and really welcome her election.

Colin Burgon MP – Guest Speaker

After dinner local Leeds Labour MP for Elmet Colin Burgon spoke to seminar delegates. (Usual health warning on posts made from hastily scribbled and illegible notes).

Colin is proud that he is born and bred in Leeds and actually went to school with our UNISON General Secretary Dave Prentis. He is retiring at the next election (he is 62 and I think he was therefore more relaxed and “off message” than other Labour MP’s who busy campaigning for re-election).

He began his speech by reminding the audience of the current strike in Leeds by UNISON/GMB dustbin and street cleaning workers. The dispute is about an attempt to cut their wages by £2-6k per year over single status. The strike has been well organised and solid with good co-operation between the unions and Colin is confident that it will succeed. A delegation from the seminar is going down to support the Picket line in the morning (see next post).

Colin managed persuasively to link the Leeds dustbin strike to Latin America! The Economic Neo-liberalism that was introduced into South America by the military dictatorships in the 1980’s cut public workers pay and privatised services and this is the same model that Leeds City Council (Lib Dem/Tory) wants to introduce. People are treated as “Consumers not Citizens”.
Colin is Chair of the All Party Committee on Cuba and Labour Party Friends of Venezuela. He has a lifelong interest in internationalism.

Colin was born in 1948 which he believes was also a start of a Golden Age for the British Working class which ended after the Oil Crisis in 1975-79. This was a time of full employment, rising living standards, dignified jobs and a sense of working class consciousness. He mused on the retreat of the left not only in the UK but in recent elections in Germany (vote for the SDP at 60 year low) and France (Socialists on 17% and Communists have practically disappeared). He blames this on the acceptance by social democratic parties of the current market led intellectual framework.

He is firmly against the “Professionalism of Politics” and warned everyone that many ordinary working people think that nobody talks to them and nobody listens to them. Controversially (not least for an avowed internationalist) he also attacked the free movement of Labour in the EU which he thinks undermine the terms and conditions of UK workers. An incomes policy by any other name. Colin is very critical of New Labour but believes passionately that Labour is the only Party for working class people for all its faults. The Party is still on its historic mission. The NHS is to him an example of “Socialism in Action”. He fiercely challenged and corrected some negative questions about the Party during the following Q&A.

I managed to ask Colin a question by firstly pointing out that we all in this room shared common values and the objective of a fairer society but we just can’t all agree on the means to bring this about. So I asked my usual question about the possible role of pension fund governance and “Workers Capital” in changing society? Colin apologised that he did not know enough about “Workers Capital” to answer the question. Which is unfortunately is the answer I get often get whenever I manage to ask this question at such meetings (us New Capitalists need to try harder).

Picture of Colin (3rd from left) with Colombian Congressman Borja; John Cruddas MP and UNISON Deputy General Secretary Keith Sonnet at the Labour Party conference - from Justice for Colombia

UNISON national seminar on Representation and Governance in LGPS

I am still playing catch-up with posts. This is on the seminar I attended last month on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). UNISON is leading a campaign to improve the governance of the LGPS. This is important to our members since a badly run scheme would result in its demise while it is also important for the wider economy. It the biggest pension fund in the UK with asserts worth £125 billion (2008). These asserts need to be managed effectively and safely. We have all seen recently what happens when there is there is poor governance and regulation of capital.

I see that the former head of the CBI, Sir John Banham, has written a report (RSA – Tomorrow Investor) “called for pension funds to take greater responsibility for how and where their money is invested, with trustees acting as ‘owners of companies’ rather than as ‘speculators in shares’…investors must ‘bridge the ownership gap’ and insist that fund managers only invest in companies where they are fully satisfied about the long-term potential for business.

All other funded pension schemes in the UK have statutory obligations to have member nominated trustee representatives involved in the governance of their pensions. This was to stop Rogue Company bosses like Maxwell stealing from pension funds and because it as felt that the best people to scrutinise the running of a pension scheme would be the representatives of the savers. This view was endorsed in a number of government reviews (Myners Report for one).

The LGPS has no such statutory obligation. While there is a Government “best practice” guide, which encourages member representation. There are no real sanctions against employers who wish to continue to run their schemes in secret and without being held to account what they do with other people’s money.

It was a well attended event with existing “member nominated representatives” (MNRs) and people interested in becoming MNRs from all over the UK. Keith Sonnet, the UNISON Deputy General Secretary was the keynote speaker. National Officer, Colin Meech gave an update on negotiations with the CLG. The CLG have now conceded that they need to change the scheme to comply with EU and British law. There was a legal briefing by Ivan Walker from Thompson’s solicitors followed by two different workshops in the afternoon. Finally, UNSION Pensions officer Glyn Jenkins gave an update on the negotiations with the CLG over LGPS benefits (as opposed to governance). The campaign continues.

(I will add photos of event another time)

Madness over Local Government Pay Offer

UNISON and UNITE Local Government Strike 16-17 July. On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the two biggest unions in the public sector will hold national strikes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland over the latest Local Government pay offer.

This is over a below inflation rate offer of only 2.45% being made by the employers. Inflation is up by 4.3%, Food is up 6%, transport 7%, mortgages 8%, electricity and gas 15%. 2.45%? It does not add up. Pay in the private sector is rising by 4%.

Some 600,000 UNISON workers are due to go on strike. Most Town hall services and many schools will be closed.

So the madness continues. In less than two years we will face a general election and the only Political Party that does actually give a damn about public sector workers is trying to gain their support by cutting their pay? Is it only me that thinks this is just stupid? Does anyone think that this offer will really appease the Tory press? Is this really “evidence based government”? Or is this the beginning of the 2nd longest suicide note in history?

Anyway – Good luck to the strikers, despite the fact that my wages are linked to local government NJC terms, my branch was not balloted on strike action. In my employer we have staff on about at least 8 different pay, terms and conditions so it is a bit of nightmare. I think we have sorted this out now so if there is any further action it is likely we will be called out. I will donate my wages for these days to the branch hardship/strike fund.

Also, UNISON Housing association members will join local government members at local picket lines to show solidarity. In London on the Wednesday there well be a demo, so assemble at 1pm at Lincoln Inn Fields, 1.30pm to start March, 2pm –Rally @ Friends Meeting House. Speakers to include: · Keith Sonett, Deputy General Secretary, UNISON, Jack Dromey. Deputy General Secretary, UNITE; · Kevin Courtney Branch Secretary and NUT NEC.

Keep it in the family - I am very proud of my “better half” who informed her headmaster the other week that she will be going on strike for the two days. She is a teacher assistant (on less than £10k per year) in a London primary school where the GMB are the dominant union amongst support staff. She will therefore be the only one in the school on strike despite this being the first year of her service.

My “little big sister” is a self employed gymnastics coach in North Wales and her LEA schools will be closed. While my “little sister” is an assistant social service worker in Lincolnshire who will also be on strike.

Gordon, Alistair, for crying out loud – forget that these people are my family, they are all instinctive Labour Party supporters, but if you pay them rubbish money, how can you get them out to vote for you in 2010?

SERTUC International Conference

On Saturday I went to South East Region TUC International conference, held at Congress House, London. Finally, in this age of “globalisation it appears that the trade union movement is starting to wake up about “international issues”. Not just NGO and single issue “pressure group” concerns, but the recognition that mainstream trade unions need to think and act outside narrow national boundaries. In many ways it complimented the "Union Ideas Network" meeting that I went to last month. Many of the same issues were discussed and debated. A running theme of the conference is that “Internationalism” is not just an excuse for a “jolly” abroad of trade union worthies, but should be a core activity.

Tony Benn kicked off the conference talking about “Global Solidarity and the Labour Movement”. I have a soft spot for Tony even thought I have nearly always disagreed with his politics. I enjoyed his reminiscing of being on a British troop ship sailing back to “blighty” after the war. He was at the time a RAF pilot and Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the 1945 elections. He remembered the debates on board on why was it possible to have full employment when the country was at war killing German’s but not in peacetime when they could be building hospitals and schools?

TUC deputy general secretary Frances O’Grady spoke about “Trade Union Internationalism”. Good stuff – internationalism is not just about merging unions, foreign travel, committees and rule books. It is about practical campaigning to organise and promote solidarity.

Professor Keith Ewing (Institute of Employment Rights) spoke about “Workers Rights in the International Context”. He started with the UK which he thought was 1. Becoming a country of minimum standards not decent standards. For example we have a minimum wage but not a living wage, a 48 hour maximum week but the right to work longer etc. 2. The focus on worker rights was changing from being protective or regulatory to now being subject to economic policy. There is an emphasis on increasing Labour supply to meet the demands of globalisation rather than promoting workers interests. 3. British trade union rights still do not meet international ILO standards e.g. ban on all forms of secondary strike action, unions find it difficult to legally expel BNP members etc.

He was also concerned that in the UK only 35 % of workers pay and conditions are protected by collective agreements. In 1979 it was 85%. . The lowest by far in the EU. Austria has 98%! One of the reasons for continued inequality in the UK is that vulnerable workers by definition cannot exercise many of their “legal” employment rights. This makes sense to me. He did however acknowledge the many positive developments such as the Warwick agreement and union learning reps.

Barry Camfield (T&G Unite) “Developing the International Workers Movement”. He started by quoting former T&G leader Jack Jones “you cannot be a trade unionist no matter how hard you try if you do not think as “we” rather than” I”. Barry urged unions to develop “new international strategies” to enable and empower” activists. We should have “action plans” in the same way as global business plan ahead. In 1922 the T&G Dockers declared “Capital is well organised, labour must do like wise”. So back to the future.

The only thing that I was surprised and disappointed about was that there was not mention at all about the role of “Workers Capital” (organising trade union representatives who sit as trustees on our pension funds who actually own relatively big chunks of many national and global companies).

I went to the morning “trade unions in Iraq” workshop. In the workshop the vocal audience were pretty much divided between “Labour Friends of Iraq” (Iraqi trade unionists want coalition troops to leave but not yet since they face slaughter) and “withdraw immediately” (you are causing more problems and deaths by coalition forces remaining). It was interesting to hear the chair, Sue Rogers, describe her surprise (as an anti-war protestor herself) at the support the war had and the continued presence from coalition troops had from Iraqi trade unionists she had met.

I attended the afternoon workshop “Global Bargaining with Global Corporations”. Dave Spooner (general secretary of the IFWEA) started off by pointing out that ethical agreements are all well and good, but do they result in any trade union members being recruited? Need to make sure that global agreements are actually agreed with all the unions involved not just the well organised ones in the “west”. He described the controversial “change to win” union organisers in the US who invest heavily to organise in key targets. Some international trade union associations as not being “fit for purpose”. They need to organise not service (we have heard this argument before), the under funding of global issues by nearly all trade unions.

Stuart Howard (assistant branch secretary of ITWF) gave a positive contribution on the possible strength international trade unions can have due to the modern day “time sensitive” supply lines e.g. the 2001 west coast US Dockers strike. Transport Unions have potentially massive industrial strength and bargaining power if they can organise in international transport “key hubs” (certain ports and airports).

John Fetherston, Unite (T&G) convenor, General Motors Ellesmere Port (a fairly major employer where I grew up) spoke about the difficulties and successes in General Motors European Works Councils. Far more success than failure I thought?

The closing plenary had Colombian trade unionist Asdrual Jimenez (who still had bullets in his back from an right wing assassination attempt), Cuban doctor Juan Carlos Dupuy Nunez, Baljeet Ghale NUT president, UNISON own Keith Sonnet and rousing speech by Rodney Bickerstaffe (Solidar and of course ex-UNISON: seen above with London UNISON deputy convernor Gloria Hanson). Keith stressed the importance of international solidarity while Rodney reminded everyone that this day was also the 139th anniversary of the first meeting of the Trade Union Congress in 1868.