Support Unison strike action

Written by Administrator Wednesday, 05 October 2011 12:45

Today’s strike is a hugely important step forward in the struggle to stop the cuts.

Justice for Unison Four

Written by Glenn Kelly, Socialist Party (CWI England & Wales) Wednesday, 09 February 2011 12:45

Four Socialist Party members were disciplined by Unison on trumped-up charges of racism, after producing a leaflet at the 2007 Unison conference, challenging the Standing Orders Committee (SOC) about ruling resolutions off the conference agenda. After a three-year long battle, we have at last been given justice in a court of law. Unison has been ruled to have acted unlawfully in disciplining us, banning us from office and taking control of our branches.

For three years the union officials have tried to hide behind the smear of racism, citing the three wise monkeys cartoon on the leaflet. But the judgment is absolutely clear on this question: "It is obvious to anyone looking at the cartoon that it is meant to represent the well-known image of the three wise monkeys who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil." The judge was coincidentally an Asian woman.

She later goes on to say that: "All four claimants are committed anti-racists and have fought against racism. They quite reasonably assumed that anyone who saw the leaflet would understand the cartoon to be saying that the SOC was out of touch and closing its mind to and ignoring issues that concerned the membership.The cartoon was not a pictorial depiction of the members of the SOC... but a representation of its attitude towards motions that were submitted to it."

She describes the evidence from the chair of the SOC as being "inconsistent" and says that it wasn’t credible. She also challenges the London regional secretary of Unison, Linda Perks. Linda Perks had stated the importance of the perception of the alleged complainants about the leaflet but had failed to speak to any black members of the union, including Beverly Miller, chair of the union’s Black Members’ Committee and Clytus Williams, chair of the SOC. In relation to the cartoon the judge says: "It must be emphasised that the monkeys in the cartoon could not by any stretch of the imagination be seen to be a caricature of Mr Williams."

Witch-hunt

What is clear is that we’ve been disciplined because we had the temerity to demand the right to debate whether union officials should be elected and live off a worker’s wage, whether ordinary members should have control over strike action and whether the union should carry on funding the Labour Party, particularly at a time when a Labour government was voting through thousands of redundancies of our members.

Many members, who are delighted at the tribunal result, are demanding that the bans be lifted, that we be reinstated in our branch and national positions and that our Unison branches be taken out of regional administration. Tens of thousands of pounds and hundreds of hours have been used to try to prosecute this case against us. Members have a right to know that every penny in the union and every moment will be used in defence of their jobs and aimed at the real enemy which is the employers and this government.

We call on all Unison members and branches to demand that this injustice be undone. Plans are also being made to lobby Unison’s national executive council.

Unison general secretary election - Prentis vote falls despite Con-Dem attacks

Written by A Unison member Tuesday, 06 July 2010 23:02

As reported in last week's Socialist, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis was re-elected to his position in the recent ballot, but with fewer votes than when he last stood in 2005.

The drop in votes for Dave Prentis was in the region of 21%, disproportionate to the fall in the turn-out in the election, from 16% to 14.6%, and is despite the fact that the election took place after the general election, when the threat of the Con-Dem attacks on public sector workers might have been expected to rally Unison members behind the union and its leadership.

Don't let Unison democracy go up in smoke

Written by Unison members Monday, 15 March 2010 00:00

Video from the Defend the Four Campaign's protest outside Unison HQ, London

Dawn raids on Unison branch offices

Written by A Greenwich Unison steward Friday, 12 March 2010 13:57

Fight the cuts, not union members

Onay Kasab (Kaz), Greenwich Unison branch secretary, was told to "disappear sharpish" by Unison bureaucrat Dan Pappiett. That is just part of the shameful scene I witnessed last Friday at 7.50am as I shook with anger. This was without doubt an attack on every one of the 3,500 members in Greenwich.

Nominate Roger Bannister

Written by Roger Bannister Tuesday, 23 February 2010 16:03

Council workers need a fighting union

Roger Bannister is a member of the Unison union's national executive, and campaigning to stand for election as Unison general secretary. Roger says the union must fight the cuts in Birmingham, which are being repeated by councils, health authorities and the education sector nationwide:

"THE PROPOSED culling of jobs, conditions, pay and public services has begun. Dave Prentis, Unison's present general secretary, attacks the Tories who run Birmingham council but Labour councils will make similar cuts. Will he attack them? Why can't the Labour government bail out our public services as they did with the banks?

Trotskyism on Trial

Written by Lynn Walsh, Socialist Party (CWI in England & Wales) Tuesday, 16 February 2010 19:17

Unison union witch-hunt – employment tribunal

Trade union activists expect class bias in the courts and employment tribunals. But rarely has a tribunal delivered such a blatantly biased judgment based on class interest. The employment tribunal judge declared open season for the persecution of Trotskyists, whom he considers "unworthy of protection" in a democratic society.