hership." speaks to GEOFF MARTIN, newly elected Convenor of UNISON's London Region about the union's future. FOR Geoff Martin there is still a big problem in UNISON: 'We don't at the moment have an effectively merged union".
The cominan of NALGO, NUPE and COHSE nrouont workers toperner trom many different areas. Of his new job he says that his principal role 1s to develop common temes which can unite all of the memAnnual subscriptions cost £17 for Britain or Ireland, £38 by air to Australasia, Japan and China, £50 for multi-reader institutions and solidarity subcribers, and £30 elsewhere. Send your cheque or postal or| der, payable to 'Socialist Outlook Fund', to PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. Add a sum equal to £7 to payments not sent in British pounds. Name Address Post Code Telephone droves."
One of these is jobs: "That brings in so much: competitive tendering, short term contracts, use of agency staff. casualisation. It is the major political issue. The feel-bad factor means that many people don't know if, ing out of services. in twelve months' time, they'll have a job or not. The union needs a strong campaign against job insecurity.
It seems to me that many employers claim that short-term to bed and shagged it!" contracts equal efficiency when in fact the reverse is the case.
"Definitely", says Martin. 'In the Health Service, noone's got any stability in their life. Well-qualified nurses and radiographers are bailing out in Slowed to continue."
He agrees that Labour Party policy on public services is extremely problematic. Although it is against compulsory tendering in local government, it still favours the voluntary contract"At a meeting iccently I was banging on about Labour councils who're embraced tendering and someone got up and said "Embraced it? They' ve taken it The modernisers in Biair's circle will not voluntarily sign up to the abolition of tendering.
"It's too bloody useful to "The CFDU is never goingto them. It's a stick with which to beat the unions, it's a mecha- break out of its ex-NALGO nism for cutting back on serv- ghetto. It is simply not capable ices and keeping expenditure of reaching ex-NUPE and exCOHSE members who are pisI put it to him that UNISON's sed off with the Blair agenda progressive policies on such is- and who are getting hammered sues as the minimum wage, full day in and day out" employment, defence of the In the election for General welfare state, are often not ade- Secretary earlier this year, he quately promoted or defended. supported Rodney Bickerstaffe "UNISON has been far too against the canwilling to take a back seat and didate of the leave the modernisers in the La- CFDU. He is bour Party to ride roughshod critical of the over Labour Party policy. I CFDU's choice don't think that should be al- of someone who is a supporter of Although he was originally Militant Labour one of its key players, he is at "It allowed Militant to dicpresent unhappy with the major tate the terms without any real broad left grouping in the union, consideration about wider isthe Campaign for a Fighting sues in terms of the Labour Democratic UNISON (which Party or anything else. It is reincludes supporters of Socialist ally dangerous to ask people on the left in the Labour Party to
FAIR PAI
is stati The modernisers in Blair's circle will not voluntarily sign up to the abolition of tendering vote for someone who supports running against Labour candidates." Another reason for his support for Bickerstaffe was that the CFDU and others on the left had not initially spotted the danger posed by the right wing candidate Peter Hunter, ex-member of the Tory Party.
Anti-abortion, against gay
"It is really dangerous to ask people on the left in the Labour Party to vote for someone who supports running against Labour candidates." rights and self-organisation, he eventually polled 30 per cent of the vote. 'We were staring down the barrel of having an ex-Tory as the leader of the biggest union in the country."
Socialist Outlook 102 • May 25, 1996.