- Conference
- 2011 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 23 February 2011
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference condemns the Coalition government’s concerted attacks on public services and the welfare state. These attacks are driven by political ideology, not economics – a continuation of the Thatcher/Major government commitment to free market economics which cynically exploits and exaggerates the effects of the economic downturn to roll back the welfare state and open up public services to the exploitation of the market.
Conference welcomes the work done by the Million Voices campaign in exposing the myths of the so-called financial crisis caused by the banks and in promoting sound arguments for an economic alternative, and urges all branches and activists to ensure these materials are circulated widely among members and service users alike. Conference welcomes the magnificent student movement that has put the coalition on the defensive and exposed the lie that there is a public consensus in support of attacks on public services.
The attack on public services is wide ranging and deep: swinging cuts to government funded grants to local authorities, colleges and universities; a determined drive to turn schools into small businesses by breaking the link with local education authorities and incentivising conversion to academies and free schools; the NHS White Paper designed to open up the NHS to competition and force all NHS Trusts to become private businesses; promotion of the John Lewis model of cooperatives as a smoke screen for management buyouts, the 21st century version of privatisation; privatisation of the Post Office, the last bastion of the nationalised industries. And in addition severe attacks on the welfare system – cuts in sickness, housing and child benefit to name but a few.
Conference notes that the effect on London is particularly severe: London local authorities face disproportionately higher cuts as Area Support Grants are withdrawn; 82,000 London families face relocation and homelessness due to housing benefit cuts; a quarter of a million London families have lost child benefit; London already has the highest unemployment rate (10% in November 2010), yet this is set to rise rapidly as thousands of public service jobs are axed in the Spring.
Conference believes that UNISON must play a leading role in challenging the Government’s policies and in campaigning to defend public services. UNISON members are in the front line: not only is it our members’ jobs and terms and conditions that are being cut, UNISON members will often be the ones who speak out most loudly in defence of those in receipt of the services they provide – the very young, the old, the sick, the most vulnerable in our society. However, Conference also recognises that UNISON will not be able to win such a campaign on its own. Success will depend upon forging strong alliances – with our members, with other unions, with users of services and their families, with communities and other stakeholders including the student movement.
Conference agrees the following principles and priorities be adopted by all lay bodies in the union in order to ensure that UNISON maximises our strength and our opportunities to build an effective campaign:
1)engage with our members – by talking to them about the issues, seeking their views, consulting them in decisions concerning their jobs and the services they provide, involving them in public campaigning, encouraging them to talk to and recruit colleague non-members;
2)build our strength in the workplace – by recruiting new members, improving membership density, developing our steward organisation such that we have a steward in every workplace, department and shift, engaging with new union members and activists reflecting the diversity of our membership and with those most severely hit by the government’s policies – students, women, young people, welfare claimants and the disabled, and BME communities;
3)engage with employers – by negotiating wherever possible to protect jobs, terms and conditions, and services, and organise industrially where this proves necessary and where we have the necessary strength. Organising and educating in workplaces – recruiting, promoting our alternative agenda; giving members the confidence to fight; campaigning for a positive bargaining agenda including, – no privatisation, avoiding compulsory redundancies; investment in learning and development, health and well being; work life balance and trade union/workforce engagement; and to support branches who take on employers who reject such an approach;
4)campaign for quality public services, retaining them in house where possible but also organising to ensure services are unionised where they are outsourced;
5)build alliances with other organisations, particularly other unions in our workplaces and those representing users of our services, but also other stakeholders and campaign groups and explore new ways of organising to engage beyond our usual ranks; building coalitions and alliances which are open, democratic and participatory, and provide the space and opportunity for genuine discussion and dialogue, and sharing of ideas and tactics; building trade union and community coalitions at local level – bringing together trade unions, community and voluntary groups, faith organisations and service users;
6)work closely in partnership with regions;
7)mobilise to ensure that tens of thousands of UNISON members from London attend the TUC anti cuts demonstration on 26th March; Build a trade union national co-ordinated campaign which seeks to build on the TUC demonstration on March 26th with further national mobilisations and supporting co-ordinated industrial action;
8)prepare for co-ordinated lawful strike action in defence of public services across service groups and alongside other unions within UNISON rules and organise and build local action in defence of services, including, demonstrations and rallies; and supporting UNISON branches and other trades unions taking lawful industrial action and to promote and support co-ordinated action at local and regional and national level across service groups and between trade unions;
9)build a campaign which can deliver action, mobilise for demonstrations and rallies; is prepared to take lawful strike action and capable of challenging the Coalition government, calling it to account exposing its lack of a mandate and if necessary, forcing an early general election;
10)developing and promoting an alternative economic agenda based on reducing the deficit through growth, creating jobs and the increased taxation which follows; taxing the rich and big business; and recognises the essential role of public services in getting through and out of recession;
11)analysing and publicising the impact of cuts on the most vulnerable – women, young people, those with disabilities and welfare claimants;
12)developing and promoting a political strategy which seeks to get MPs, councillors and political parties to support our campaign and sign up to our agenda.