UNISON National Delegate Conference 2023- Day 3

Today (Thursday) I still have "conference lurgy" so skipped the morning run again. Another glorious blue sky day. Nice to have a name check in the Morning Star from yesterday's debate "the NEC shouldn't go off and be a lone ranger" and picture of my Community NEC colleague Denise Thomas. 

As regional delegates ,Yvonne and I spent most of the morning collecting and then collating reprioritisation forms from branch delegates. Long story short, branches had the chance to nominate 6 motions that they would like to be debated on Friday afternoon. Sounds simple but pretty complicated in practice and time consuming. 

It was good to see that Conference voted to extend the age range of young members to 30 (well done our former HAB branch manager Josephine, now national officer for young members). 

During lunch break I went to a interesting fringe "on the future of Local Government" with guest speakers, Alex Norris MP and PCC Kim McGuiness. I did my usual warning about "watch out, Michael Gove in on manoeuvres" and he is after the Local Government Pension scheme in order to fund his Levelling up ambitions. 

The debate of the day was the very last, motion 84, which many delegates considered to be a ill thought out money grab of branch funds by a discredited outgoing NEC. Other speakers thought it was much worse than that. However, it did have supporters and also enjoyed the President allowing some pretty blatant abuse of protocol by speakers on a technical amendment to 84 and finally an outrageous disregard of a very clear vote by delegates against the motion in favour of an immediate card vote. We should find out the result of the card vote tomorrow. 

Afterwards, some of us went to recover in the nearby Baltic Fleet Pub then I joined branch and other London delegates for a Cosmo meal during which we tried to work out how much it would cost the union in strike pay if Local Government goes out on strike. £10 million per day was our lowest estimate. Which pretty much means that even if 84 is passed, then there still won't be enough money to fund effective strike action.  

East End May Day Rally - Yiddish, Cockney & Bengali Culture mix of Labour Movement Politics & History

After we finished campaigning in our ward, my Labour & Co-operative colleague John Whitworth and I went to the "East End May Day Rally" in East Ham Working Mens Club. This was organised by the Bangladeshi Workers' Council and the Morning Star.

We were late but within minutes of walking into the hall we were singing along (badly) to the French Revolution anthem "La Marseillaise" in Yiddish!

Next there was a local (E17) "Steve White and the Protest Band" who also wanted audience participation and sang several great songs including one advising the EDL to stick their racist hatred up their a...

At the end there was also a musical performance of the "Internationale" in Bengali which we were also invited to join in and sign along.

In between there was a number of political speeches, including that of our very own Newham Cllr, Anamul Islam, who gave a nicely presented speech about how the Labour movement should unite and join the Labour Party.

I am not sure that democratic Parliamentary reformism is everyone's cup of tea but if it is, then they are more than welcome in the political branch of our movement. 

Socialism is Beer at 20p per litre: Christmas Eve Sectarian

"YOUR editorial Schism in North Korea (M Star December 16) was without a doubt one of the worst articles ever to appear in the Morning Star.

The Star has truly crossed the Rubicon. It has degenerated from being a revisionist newspaper into being openly pro-imperialist, anti-communist and social democratic.

The editorial rehashed the lies of the capitalist press with a few cheap throwaway jibes aimed at currying favour with Trotskyites.

The article reads like a mixture of the Sun newspaper and the Socialist Worker.

The defeat of the counter-revolutionary faction in the DPRK should be a matter for congratulation.
The swift, decisive and resolute action taken by Marshal Kim Jong Un has dealt a blow to the imperialists — as shown by the reactionary Lord Alton’s comments that Jang Song Thaek was “a real hope for reform” in the DPRK.

The class enemy is angry about the elimination of its agent in the DPRK but why should the Star, a “socialist daily newspaper,” join hands with them in attacking the DPRK?

Had the Soviet Union taken similar decisive measures against Gorbachov and Yeltsin socialism would still exist in the USSR today — this is a fact.

All the old lies of the capitalist media about the DPRK are spewed up by the Morning Star.

Rather than living standards declining in the DPRK they are improving as a large number of leisure and cultural facilities have been built in the past 18 months.

Education and health care are free in the DPRK, housing is virtually free and people do not pay tax.
The Pyongyang Metro is the cheapest in the world at only 2.5p per journey and a litre of beer costs just 20p.

What is this if not socialism?

There is no schism in the DPRK – a handful of counter-revolutionary factionalists do not represent anyone.

The people are solidly united around the party and the leader.
DERMOT HUDSON – London SE18"

Hat tip Shiraz Socialist - Picture Katyn

UNISON Housing Association Pension Strike November 30

I had all the placards, banners, flags and leaflets etc at home, so I took a minicab this morning at 6.30am to the picket and lobby at Islington. It was a relief to see that there was 3 branch members waiting for me on site at 7am.  We then spent the next couple of hours busy setting things up. The concourse outside the Highbury and Islington Underground station and the traffic island is very busy and high profile.  We put placards, balloons and flags on railings, trees and street furniture.  While leafleting and talking to the public. 

There was an overwhelmingly positive reaction from commuters and passersbyes.  A few idiotic comments but so few as to be remarked upon. Unite members who were not on strike had taken leave in order to take part. Journalists from the "Morning Star" and "Inside Housing" came to visit and interview us.  As well as a Swiss journalist. We had "Jiving for decent pensions" lessons given free to pickets by Sarah, our branch finance officer, who is a Jiving Dancing champion and instructor (see next post).  I was  the only one who didn't mind the lessons being filmed despite me being completely rubbish at jiving!

There was also a successful branch picket outside Gem House in Aldgate.

Next some of us went to the local Islington rally outside the Town Hall, while I went to meet Gloria Hanson, the UNISON regional Convenor in Holburn. We took part with branch members in the march through central London. At the Rally in Victoria Embankment, Gloria was a speaker to the estimated 30,000 crowd. Afterwards we joined the UNISON picket line outside St Thomas Hospital which went on until 6pm. We had a little break to see a guest off but returned to the picket line later until it finished. Then a quick beer (or three) and home.  I'll post futher pics on the Strike day later.

Completely knackered but it was a really good day. I hope you-know-who-you-are: are listerning and will have the decency to give us pension justice. Go on - surprise us.

"Battle of Cable Street" Veteran Urges Support for TUC March on 26th

Max Levitas who marched against the fascists in Cable Street in 1936 joined our Labour Party and Trade Union stall in Stratford on Saturday to pledge support for the TUC March for an Alternative on the 26th.

Max (picture) is now 95 and was a Communist Party Councillor in Whitechapel from 1945 to 1958. At Cable Street he marched alongside Phil Piratin (on of the first Communist MP's and father of one of my former UNISON branch secretaries).

He still comes shopping to Stratford twice a month and takes the 25 bus here and back.

I have seen Max speak at events in the past and once even knocked on his door while canvassing for Labour.  He is still proud to be a Communist but says he would usually vote for Labour if there was not a real Communist standing and is pleased to see the Labour Party out campaigning.  He will be there on the TUC March on the 26th.

Max warned us about the threat to the Labour Movement from those who have their own agenda and will try their best to wreck and split us.  Of course, I haven't a clue who he means?

South East Region TUC AGM 2008

Yesterday morning I had to skive off from Labour Party street stalls and canvassing to attend the SERTUC (South East Region Trade Union Congress) AGM at Congress House.

I am a first time UNISON delegate. London UNISON Convenor, Gloria Hanson was there to show me the ropes.

It was well attended with about 100 delegates from 17 affiliated trade unions and a number of TUC trade councils from all over London and South East England.

There were really interesting speakers such as Adrian Weir from Unite, who spoke about a recent trade union visit to Palestine and the pretty disastrous situation for everyone in that deeply unhappy and divided region.

Ivan Beavis, spoke somewhat wittily on the need of the Labour movement to support the Morning Star newspaper. It is not apparently anymore the Party organ of the Communist Party but the only real “Paper of the Left”. You may not agree with all its arguments and editorials but it is the only national newspaper that will bother to report on trade union and Labour movement issues. I know I should read the “Morning Star” but to be frank I find it difficult to find the time to read any printed newspaper nowadays, never mind the mass of specialist trade union, political, safety, Pension and housing magazines that I should be wading through. It’s a poor excuse I know, but there you go. Fair play to Ivan for at least making us smile.

Not a smiling matter in the least was the speech by senior Shelter Unite Shop steward, Elizabeth O’Hara. Shelter (the housing charity) had their 3rd and 4th day of strike action last week and are due to go on strike again next week for 2 days. The strike is over a proposed significant reduction in pay, terms and conditions for many staff. They are meeting management on Monday and I hope something get sorted out. The strike seems to be getting even more bitter than before and must resolved ASAP.

There were also guest speakers from Malawi trade unions who phrased the South African Dockers who refused to unload arms and munitions for the dictator Mugabe in Durban and called for international intervention in Zimbabwe to bring democracy to that country.

There was a lot of support for Ken in the GLA elections and of course defeating the BNP. Steve Hart the London regional secretary of Unite pointed out that some 3,500 of his members who work as cleaners have benefited from the London Living Wage of £7.20 per hour. Ken has announced that as soon as Metronet (one of the underground contractors that have gone bust) is taken over by the GLA, their low paid minimum wage (£5.52) staff will also benefit from the GLA Living wage commitment.

The GLA UNISON shop is apparently nearly 100% density, as you could imagine with the workforce fearing the prospect of Boris as their boss and BNP Assembly members.

No matter what you think about Ken (or the Labour Party for that matter) you must want Boris to lose. It is no use just moaning about Boris or dismissing him as a buffoon, he could well win. If you don’t want him to win you have to actively campaign against him. If you shut your eyes and pretend he doesn’t exist he will not just go away. Personally, I wish SERTUC had postponed the traditional May 1st parade and should have encouraged trade unionists to either be “knocking up” for Labour or handing leaflets out for Searchlight. I’m disappointed to miss this years March (see 2007). But I think it is far more important to stop Boris.