A successful coup usually requires two things: an acceptable leader-in-waiting, and a delegitimisation of the current leadership. While the PLP have only finally agreed on the former, the latter has been underway for some time. The latest delegitimisation of Corbyn’s position, and an attempt to legitimise the coup, is to claim the rulebook shows he […]
Posts Tagged ‘Unison’
UNISON activists need to move on from the General Secretary election
Dec 23rd, 2015 by Andy Newman.I am not a member of UNISON, and I am neither qualified nor inclined to comment on the respective merits of the various candidates who recently contested their election for General Secretary. However, I do think that there is cause for concern for the whole labour movement that such a large and important union may […]
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Dave Prentis re-elected general secretary amidst allegations of ballot rigging
Dec 18th, 2015 by Keith Wright.Dave Prentis was yesterday declared re-elected as leader of UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, amidst allegations of ballot rigging, in face of a call by one-third of the union’s national executive committee for his suspension and with a public petition calling for an independent inquiry and the election to be re-run. One candidate has now issued a legal […]
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Trade union shows how not to consult its members on London Mayoralty
Jun 2nd, 2015 by Jon Lansman.So far the selection of the candidate for London Mayor has left much to be desired. A selection process was imposed on London that no section of the party in London wanted – not the trade unions, not the constituency parties, not the regional board of the party. Then the process was designed as if […]
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In Bournemouth at the TUC, union leaders firm up against Ed Miliband’s proposals
Sep 9th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.In Bournemouth for the TUC Congress, the leaders of the three biggest unions affiliated to the Labour Party yesterday firmed up their position against Ed Miliband’s proposals to ‘reform’ the Labour Party trade union link. Dave Prentis, General Secretary of Unison which already has two sections of its political fund – one affiliated to Labour […]
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NUPE, Leadership and Democracy
Jan 25th, 2012 by Andy Newman.This official history of NUPE from 1928 to 1993 (when it merged with COHSE and NALGO to form UNISON) deserves to be a standard reference book for those interested in the evolution of modern unions, particularly in the public services. It is comprehensively researched, although mainly from the written records, rather than tapping into the […]
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Andrew Fisher on Trade Unions: Wrong, wrong, wrong
Jan 22nd, 2012 by Andy Newman.It is hard to imagine a more ill-judged intervention into the debates about the public sector pensions dispute than that of Andrew Fisher, joint secretary of the Labour Representation Committee, and I was therefore surprised to see it reproduced at Left Futures, and praised by Gregor Gall, who is usually an astute commentator on trade union affairs.
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The Pensions dispute and the way forward for trade unions
Jan 19th, 2012 by Andrew Fisher.The November 30 strikes saw unprecedented unity in the union movement but the speed of its collapse illustrates just how tenuous it was. Despite claims to have extracted significant concessions from the government, unions that sign up to the government’s offer are really guilty of selling short not only their members but millions more whose […]
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Is it time to review the Bridlington agreement?
Jan 11th, 2012 by Andy Newman.The dispute over recognition for GMB with Carillion Facilities Management at Great Western Hospital (GWH) in Swindon raises important issues related to privatisation of services in the NHS, and the relationship between sister trade unions. GMB is a general union that organises all grades in the NHS, and has a national recognition agreement with the NHS. […]
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Trade unions: the big task ahead in 2012
Dec 29th, 2011 by Owen Jones.It was the year that sticking it to the status quo re-entered the mainstream after an all-too-long long hiatus. And yet 2011 showed just how far that resistance remains from mounting a serious challenge to the Tories, let alone giving capitalism much to worry about, four years into its worst crisis since the Great Depression. […]
