STEWARDS and branch officers in Liverpool and Sefton UNISON branches are to be disciplined by the national leadership for organising inПЛЛ dustrial action in defence of their members. In both cases action was unofficial and therefore "illegal".
In Liverpool stewards at the Fairfield Day Centre organised industrial action against management racism over a year ago.
The local authority and the Commission for Racial Equality later acknowledged the problem, and indeed the council did not seek to have the action repudiated by UNISON nationally, nor did they seek a court injunction.
Yet four UNISON stewards have now been charged by the national leadership with "participating in and/or supporting unlawful industrial action". One of them faces 17 other charges, including "making false allegations of racism" and "prostituting the issue of racism for his own ends".
The Liverpool branch secretary, Judy Cotter, who opposed the stewards and their action, also faces disciplinary action.
Since the industrial action took place, UNISON general secretary Alan Jinkinson has refused to allow Liverpool branch to hold. its AGM and elect stewards and officers.
In June he proposed the AGM should go ahead, but the national executive voted him down.
The hearing against the four has now been postponed to October.
UNISON's leadership is also taking disciplinary action against Martin Murphy and Nigel Flanaaan. chair and secretary of • Setton UNISON, for organising unofficial industrial action against a council attempt to privatise a large number of its services.
The action forced the council to back down, but the council Labour group, the biggest in a hung council, decided to take the union to court.
Murphy and Flanagan were fined £1250 each and UNISON nationally £5000 for not having dissociated itself "forcibly enough" from the action. These relatively small fines were the result of mass demonstrations outside the court, which brought together 6000 workers from many different unions.
Despite the effectiveness of the Sefton strike action in thwarting privatisation and defending members jobs, the UNISON leadership are now putting the boot in against their own activists. UNISON activists should support the "Fightback" conference called by Sefton branch on SATURDAY 17 September, 11am-4pm. Crosby Civic Centre, Waterloo, Merseyside, and lobby the UNISON NEC on Saturday September 24, which will receive a report on Sefton.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 68, September 10 1994, Page 5