21 July 2001
Britain:
UNISON reconsiders its links with Labour
Socialist Party Press Release
Yesterday, UNISON, the largest trade union in Britain, decided to reassess the funds that it gives to the Labour Party.
UNISON's national conference yesterday passed resolution 131, on both a show of hands and by a card vote, entitled "Labour what do we get for our money?". The vote was carried by 478,088 to 386,226 - a majority of 91,862.
The passing of this resolution represents a breaking of the monopoly of New Labour over trade union funds. Less than three weeks after the general election the government is beginning to see a tiny glimpse of the ferocious opposition from trade unionists it will face in coming years.
In moving the motion, Glen Kelly, Branch Secretary of Bromley Unison, and Socialist Party member, summed up the mood of many at the conference when he said: "We've handed £750,000 over to Labour's election fund at the same time as New Labour have handed Dudley hospital workers over to the private sector. Tories introduced PFI (private finance) in one hospital; New Labour has introduced it in 38. Today a New Labour council in Hackney has sent sacking notices to our members for refusing to take wage cuts. This party does not represent our interests."
The resolution was also supported by a broad spectrum of the conference - including members of the Labour Party.
Background information
The text of resolution 131 from Bromley UNISON is as follows:
"This Conference notes that despite four years of a New Labour government UNISON members continue to face cuts in jobs and conditions, that the privatisation of public services has continued apace and that hundreds of thousands of our members continue to earn less than £5 an hour.
Conference notes that, increasingly UNISON members are asking why we hand over millions of pounds money, to fund a party who is attacking our jobs, wages and conditions. Conference also notes that the New Labour policies have led significant groups of electors in London and elsewhere to vote against New Labour candidates and in favour of independents or other candidates who oppose cuts, privatisation and defend public services.
This conference does not believe that we are using our funds to defend UNISON policy and objectives as required to under the rules of the union.
Conference therefore instructs the National Executive Council to consult the affiliated and general political fund committees, service groups, self organised groups, regions and branches in order to prepare a report for submission to the Annual Delegate Conference in 2002 on the future of UNISON's political funds with appropriate recommendations accompanied by any necessary amendments to the Rule."
Glen Kelly is a resident of the London Borough of Hackney. On 7 June he stood in a council by-election as an "anti-cuts" candidate with the support of hundreds of Hackney (London) UNISON members.
Union rethinks £2m Labour link in 'privatisation' protest
Article from the British Independent
by Barrie Clement, Labour Editor
22 June 2001
Labour's long relationship with the trade unions was under threat last night after its biggest single donor decided to review links with the party in disgust at the Government's "privatisation" policies.
In an unprecedented move, the public service union Unison voted to take a fundamental look at whether it gets value for money from its annual donation of more than £2m, which forms a significant slice of Labour's income. Despite strong opposition from the Unison leadership, the union's annual conference in Brighton said it needed to reassess the relationship because of the Government's "attack" on the wages and conditions of state employees.
The move follows a warning of nationally coordinated strikes by Unison, Britain's biggest union, and a decision by the Fire Brigades Union to "free up" its political fund so that the money can be used to back parliamentary candidates who support the union's aims.
The RMT rail union - a prime mover in the establishment of the Labour Party in 1900 - will debate a similar motion next week. At its biennial conference next month, the Transport and General Workers' Union, another of the party's largest affiliates, will be urged to look at alternative ways of using its political fund.
In response to the mounting concern in the union movement, Tony Blair yesterday told the Cabinet to go out and explain Government policies on attracting private money into public services.
His spokesman said he had told ministers that it was "important to have constant explanation of what this was about as people will try to misinterpret and misrepresent it".
Proposing the motion in the Unison debate, Glen Kelly, a Socialist Party member from Bromley, said that, by making the donation, the union was "feeding the hand that bites us". He said that while the last Conservative government introduced the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) at one hospital, Labour had done it at 38.
Geoff Martin, Unison's left-wing London convenor, and a Labour Party member, said the motion passed by his union's conference meant there had to be "root and branch" review of the donations.
"The leadership... opposed the motion quite strongly, but the decision by the conference means that people are asking some serious questions about the nature of the union's relationship with the party. We are not going to be taken for granted any more."
He said that while the motion - passed by 478,000 votes to 386,000 - was proposed by the Socialist Party, many of the speakers in favour were Labour Party members.
Embarrassed Unison leaders were anxious to play down the significance of the decision. Dave Prentis, general secretary of the union, who argued against the proposition, said the union was happy to conduct the review and report back to next year's conference.
"The vote does not change in any way whatsoever our arrangements with either the Labour Party or our general political campaigning work," he said. Mr Prentis pointed out that a move earlier in the conference to withhold funds to Labour if the Government was not prepared to stop the use of the PFI was "roundly defeated". He said that other motions instructed Unison to use the links with Labour Party to pursue union policies.
The resolution passed yesterday stated: "Conference notes that, increasingly Unison members are asking why we hand over millions of pounds of members money to fund a party which is attacking our jobs, wages and conditions."
On Wednesday more than 2,000 delegates at the conference backed nationally coordinated strikes and rallies to halt the "privatisation juggernaut" as the Queen's Speech unveiled plans for legislation which will increase private sector involvement in public services.
A senior Labour source said: "I'm sure that when Unison weighs up the benefits, they will stick with Labour."
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