“They may have the money, they may have the power, but we have something much stronger, we have determination,” said UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis addressing UNISON’s women’s conference in Liverpool this morning. He continued, “together in solidarity, nothing will stand in our way”.
He was urging delegates to carry on the fight against the Tory-led government.
This was a “critical time for our members,” he said, as they faced losing their jobs and their public services because of “the thirst of the rich, the greed of the bankers, the failure of governments.”
He said that the current rise in inequality, with “tax cuts for the super-rich and food banks for the working poor” isn’t an unforeseen result of the Tory government “it’s a Tory ambition. An unequal society doesn’t keep David Cameron awake at night – it’s what he dreams of.”
He proposed an alternative to George Osborne’s austerity economics: “You have to invest for growth, invest to protect, invest for a future that works.” He condemned the government for using the economic crisis “as their opportunity to finish what Thatcher started,” the privatisation of the NHS, schools and the police force.
Loud applause greeted his solidarity greetings to the Wakefield health workers striking over changes to their pay and jobs.
And he vowed that across the country UNISON members would carry on striking, protesting and campaigning “until we kick this coalition government out.”
He also had a message for the Labour party: “no more supporting the pay freeze.”
He thanked delegates “for the work you do, day in and day out for our members,” and he paid tribute to activists who despite their “hectic lives still find time to fight for others.”
He reminded delegates that “our union can only be strong if we recruit and if we grow,” asking them to “promise to get involved” in the union’s recruitment campaign, due to launch on 11 March.
