OUTGOING General Secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe has written to all UNISON branches, regions and national departments of the union threatening disciplinary action for using any branch funds or resources to support the upcoming lobby of Labour Party conference.
The lobby has been called to campaign for decent pensions, welfare not warfare, a 35 hour week with no loss of pay, end privatisation and PFI/PPP, full union rights and to scrap the Asylum and Immigration Bill.
In an amazing and daring feat of legal gymnastics, Rodney argues that supporting a lobby around these demands - all of which are in line with existing UNISON policies -would be in breach of the union's political fund rules and of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation Act 1992. Bick: bowing out attacking the left The letter states...'branches are instructed not to use any funds to support the 1999 lobby. To do so would be in breach of the union's rules and statute. The Certification Officer has already issüed two rulings against UNISON concerning branch payments to political parties. In his ruling dated June 1998, the Certification Officer indicated that he such a lenient view of any further breaches' by UNISON branches'. Whilst many of us might scratch our heads wondering what donations to political parties have got to do with supporting the lobby, earlier on the letter says that 'an article in Socialist Worker calls for union branches to pledge support for the lobby and to book transport.' We can only deduce from this that the SWP have secretly brought a network of coach and rail companies, and hence booking transport would go straight to their coffers. The SWP also urged support for UNISON's April 10 demonstration for a Living Wage -and other demonstrations correctly backed by the union -but this was not used a reason for seeking to prevent UNISON branches sending delegations. gates Conference the bureaucracy managed to get a motion banning branch affiliations to the Campaign for a Fighting UNISON by assuring delegates that this did not mean that branches were not allowed to publicly campaign around issues of union policy. Having won that position the union leadership are attempting to move the goalposts even further. Meanwhile, conference is barred from discussing how the Affiliated Political Fund is used to campaign against union policy within the Labour Party since even discussing the APF's role at conference would be in breach of UNISON rules. It is absolutely clear that if these moves aren't clearly rejected by the membership then ünion democracy wili disappear in the same way as it has in the Labour Party.