By Andy Ford
UNISON General Secretary, Christina McAnea, gave an interesting interview on the Andrew Neil programme last week, which might give an insight into the thinking of some of the right wing in the unions.
It is the three big, affiliated unions – UNISON, GMB and USDAW – which have supported and therefore enabled Keir Starmer to witch-hunt good socialists, to shut down democracy in the CLPs and to force a right wing political programme onto the Labour Party. They could have called time on his vacuous rebranding of Labour, as well as his vicious factional behaviour, at any time, through their influence in TULO, the organisation of affiliated unions, and through their participation on Labour’s NEC on which these three unions together have five representatives. But they didn’t.
Members could be forgiven for thinking they are playing a double game – telling them they are fighting for their union’s policies, but the seeming to turn a blind eye, or voting the in the Labour Party conferences and on the NEC in a way that contradicts the spirit if not the letter of their unions’ policies. They actively support a leadership who is opposed to most of their unions’ official policies. This is nothing new; it is what sustained Blairism all through the 1990s.
On NHS pay, Christina McAnea explained the injustice of the 4%/£1400 NHS pay award. But when Andrew Neil asked her how much actually would be enough, unfortunately she became remarkably vague. “An inflation proof rise” was as much as she would say. Yet it is Labour Party policy (‘officially’) precisely because UNISON moved a resolution at conference affirming £15/hr, a resolution passed overwhelmingly.
Andrew Neil pointed out that the Labour leadership do not back an inflation-proof pay rise, which would need to be of the order of 10-11%. “But they do back us” McAnea responded, “by promising a very different economic policy and accepting that the public sector needs a pay rise“.
Clearly Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will not be backing a 10% or 11% pay rise anytime soon, but more to the point, UNISON do not seem to be using their influence in the Labour Party to insist that they do, contenting themselves with passing a composite motion that (they should know) is going to be ignored by the leadership.
Talking about the plans of Liz Truss to further restrict trade union rights, McAnea came over truly underwhelming. The plans, she said tamely, were “really unhelpful“. Talk about an understatement! If Truss’s proposals go through parliament, UNISON’s organisational structures in the NHS would collapse. The union reps and branch officers depend on facility time, which Truss is pledged to end, to service their NHS members.
Again, most right wing union leaderships have failed to argue for the repeal of all the anti-union laws currently on the statute book. At the moment Labour are only pledged to repeal any new laws passed by Liz Truss, and so not even to abolish the restrictions brought in in 2015 – which imposed all manner of thresholds and legal hoops to jump through. It is perfectly OK, for example, for the Tory Party membership to vote to elect a leader by e-mail, but not for union members to vote electronially on industrial action.
The conversation with Andrew Neil turned to the possibility of industrial action in the NHS this winter. McAnea again explained eloquently how bad staff are finding the NHS at the moment, particularly the low pay and the overwork. The 140,000 current unfilled vacancies, are having a hugely damaging effect on morale and on services. But she (incorrectly) talked about a “legal obligation” to provide life and limb cover during strikes. In fact, the Royal College of Nurses, (RCN) is outflanking UNISON by balloting for strike action for the first time in its entire history.
McAnea should have used the interview as an opportunity to explain that the Tories are deliberately running down the NHS – a service they have always opposed from 1948 onwards – to drive people towards the private sector and to ‘justify’ further encroachment of private providers into the NHS. She had the opportunity, but it was an opportunity missed.
Finally, Andrew Neil asked, “Are you happy with the support you get from Labour?” Unbelievably, she answered “By and large, yes“, despite that support being in fact non-existent at least as far as the Party leadership goes.
“The Party”, she told Neil, “has at least agreed to talk to us about getting new deals for the sectors with the least protections“. At least “agreed to talk to us”…? Is that support?
Asked about MPs and shadow ministers on picket lines, McAnea responded by saying that politicians attending picket lines is a “side show” which “makes little difference to the outcome“. Her message here seemed to be “don’t play politics with our pickets“. It is a classic case of leave politics to the politicians. In fact, for the overwhelming majority of trade unionists on picket lines the presence of a supporting Labour MP is great morale booster and if the Labour leadership threw its weight behind workers fighting to keep their wages up with inflation, it would add significant weight to their struggle.
The Tories, on the other hand, have piled into the RMT and CWU over their strikes, and they are giving full strategic and tactical support to the employers. They understand better that some union leaders the affinity between political and industrial struggles. This will be the story this winter if UNISON’s 400,000 NHS members take strike action. Seemingly, Christina will be content with a deafening silence from the Labour leadership, despite paying the party at least £1.2 million in the last 12 months for which records are available, and being the biggest trade union backer of Starmer in his leadership campaign.
This is the text of the Unison/GMB motion passed by Labour conference:
Workers’ pay – composite motion five
Conference notes Labour’s proud record as the party of decent pay. It was Labour governments that delivered equal pay, the minimum wage, and record investment in public services, and it is Labour in power in Wales rolling out the real living wage for all care workers.
Conference believes that the cost-of-living crisis is a low pay crisis. The only way to avoid the steepest drop in living standards since the 1950s is to give Britain’s workers a pay rise.
Conference thanks public service workers who put their lives on the line through the Covid-19 pandemic and notes that over a decade of Tory pay restraint and austerity has left them vulnerable to this cost-of-living crisis.
As high inflation continues to push up prices and put strain on household budgets, Conference therefore resolves that Labour will commit to taking urgent steps to improve pay and rebuild a fairer economy including:
Pay increases at least in line with inflation
Government at all levels to take seriously their responsibility to fund public services properly and deliver a fair wage to those who provide them
£15 per hour minimum wage
Job security and proper sick pay
Reform of the welfare system to protect dignity and provide adequate income
Affordable, good quality childcare that allows parents to return to work and which pays early years staff a decent wage
Employers, not workers, to bear the costs of working, including hospital car parking fees and out-of-date mileage rates.
