London region delegate (in a personal capacity)
THE CONFERENCE OF Unison, Britain's biggest union with 1.5 million memoers, was dominated by the torthcoming general election and how the union should relate to a Labour government.
The two different approaches to a Labour government were expressed in the first major debate of the conference which was on the minimum wage.
General Secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe stated in moving the resolution that ‹4.26 an hour was a decent level and that the union would fight for it. However he opposed an amendment instructing the NEC to submit a resolution on the minimum wage to the TUC and called on delegates to "trust me, don't tie my hands".
Delegates voted by approx 620,000 to 480,000 to tie down Bickerstaffe and the NEC.
Other amendments calling for industrial action to force a Labour government to meet Unison's demand for a minimum wage were overwhelmingly defeated.
A lobby of the TUC on Monday 9 September on the minimum wage is being called by the left and should be built for widely.
This was the pattern for the rest of conference. Policies to restore public services and the welfare state were adopted, but any specific proposals for action to achieve These cemands were rejected.
Although the platform expressed clear dinterences with Blairs New Labour, it decisively appealed to delegates to reject calls for action which may embarrass Labour before or after the election.
The government's attacks on Asylum and immigration rights were the other main debate of the week.
Lola Onibayo, whose father and brother have been deported, spoke. Her father has disappeared since being sent to Nigeria. Now her mother and younger sisters face a similar threat.
Delegates rejected a motion calling for non-compliance with the new Asylum and Immigration Bill/Law by