Today’s star attraction – Billy Bragg

Conference enjoyed today’s guest appearance by Billy Bragg.  Initially we saw the film of his confrontation with Richard Barnbrook of the BNP on St George’s Day.  This is when Barnbrook was reminded that St George was born in the Lebanon and would not be welcome in England under BNP immigration policies.

Billy Bragg proceeded to tell conference about the general election campaign in Barking and Dagenham and the defeat of the fascist BNP.  He also thanked UNISON activists for their efforts during the campaign in Barking and Dagenham and elsewhere in the country.  The effective disenfranchisement of so may voters by the current electoral system was covered and the effect during the election campaign of core Labour voters feeling they had been taken for granted.  He felt that there was nothing to fear from the BNP in the event of proportional representation.  Rather there would be genuine pluralism which would bring out the progressive voters who would then have a real choice of parties to vote for.

He went on to talk of accountability for those in economic power and ridiculed the oxymorons of “democratic capitalism” and “self-regulation”.  The latter has allowed banks to regulate themselves….. Trade unions have a key riole to play in protecting the interests of their members and members’ families, for example by fighting the marketisation of public services.  He concluded that political parties may change their colours but organised labour is constant.

the session ended with a moment of levity as the entire hall donned Robin Hood masks and sang along to “Robin Hood, Robin Hood Riding through the glen….”.  Very fetching UNISON’s president looked in his mask too……

Billy Bragg addresses conference

From Tobin Tax to Robin Hood Tax

Motion 92 Tobin Tax was initially amended to refer to the “Robin Hood Tax”.  This concerns the proposal to levy a tax on all bank transactions as a means to address current deficits and to fund services which would help poorer people.  Such a proposal had been objected to strongly by Boris Johnson…..

Branch delegate John Gray spoke to this motion drawing particular attention to the benefit the tax would have for occupational pensions.  By taxing transactions it would discourage short term speculation in favour of the longer term investments which pension schemes need.  This would in turn encourage a move away from the Casino Capitalism which has led to worldwide recession.  Unsurprisingly this motion was carried unanimously.

Thursday morning session – public ownership, prostitution and domestic abuse

This morning conference concluded its debate on Motion 42 concerning public sector ownership and employment.  This motion acknowledged that co-operative and mutual forms of ownership can be beneficial for employees and service users.  (An amendment critical of that point and the involvement of the Co-operative Movement in trust schools was defeated).  Speakers to the motion did also refer to poorer terms and conditions within voluntary sector employment and the impact of short-term funding decisions on service delivery.   The need to protect terms and conditions was therefore highlighted.  This motion was carried.

Motion 117 “Demand Change!” concerned decriminalisation of prostitution and the criminalisation of those paying for such services.  This is the so-called “Nordic model” and did generate speeches against the motion, on the basis that it might make commercial sex workers more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.  Speakers against the motion also advocated that unions should be organising these workers but those proposing the motion felt this approach would legitimise prostitution.  The motion was eventually carried.

Motions 113 and 15 concerned (respectively) violence against disabled people and domestic abuse.  In both cases speakers gave moving personal accounts of their experiences of these issues.  Both motions were carried unanimously.  The latter concerned workplace agreements on domestic abuse and acknowledged that union members may both experience domestic abuse or be the perpetrators.

Looking Ahead to the Service Group Conference

A group of delegates from branches made up entirely of community and voluntary sector workers met informally on Wednesday evening.  This was initiated by the Branch Secretary of the London Community and Voluntary Organisations Branch, Charlie Hore.  Three Housing Associations Branch delegates attended the meeting and we were also joined by delegates from other branches including Barnardos and Home Housing Group.  The outcome of an informal discussion about the issues which face our branches (e.g. funding and facility time) was that we would build up a communication network between  branch officers in preparation for the first conference of the new Community Service Group in November.  The dedicated branches have an opportunity and responsibility to ensure that the new service group gets off to a flying start in 2010.

http://www.unisonvob.co.uk/main.htm

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A Special Guest

Anti-apartheid campaigner Denis Goldberg, was today awarded honorary life membership of UNISON.  Having been imprisoned for 22 years following the Rivonia trial, he was deported to the the UK in 1985 where he continued to campaign against apartheid.  He returned to South Africa in 1994 and subsequently has campaigned against poverty and inequality.   At the age of 77 he continues to fight for these causes.  Today’s award of life membership of UNISON on 16 June coincides with anniversary of the Soweto rising.  During the course of the ceremony today Mr Goldberg received three standing ovations which makes him by far the most popular person at conference this year….

The Canadian Model?

The guest speaker on Wednesday afternoon was Paul Moist, National President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.  He discussed the “Canadian Model” so beloved of the new Con-Dem coalition.  The Canadian Conservative and Liberal parties are “two sides of the same coin” introducing policies in the 1980s and 1990s which were interchangeable. For example the Canadian Tories introduced a VAT-like tax which had greatest impact on poorer Canadians and also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement.  They were responsible in the 1980s for the destruction of much of Canada’s industrial base.   When the Liberals came to power in 1995 they set about undermining Canada’s health service and welfare state by devolving the debts to lower levels of government. This balanced the federal books but led to an unbalanced society. More recently the Canadian government was obstructive during the Copenhagen climate talks and continues to deny climate change. Migrant workers (250,000 of them) are kept in a legal limbo through the use of temporary visas. Whilst paying the equivalent of national insurance they may not claim benefits, and fear deportation if they become active in trade unions.

Paul Moist advocated co-operation between trade unions nationally and internationally, alongside work with other campaigning organisations, to resist attacks on workers’ rights. In conclusion he praised the international work of UNISON supporting the role of unions elsewhere in the world e.g. in South Africa.

Debate on Middle East

During the afternoon session of day two, motions relating to Israel and Palestine were debated, including an emergency motion on the “Flotilla” incident of 31 May 2010.  The Housing Associations Branch Executive Committee had discussed how its delegates should vote on one of the motions relating to Palestine (number 98), instructing branch delegates to vote in favour of the motion.  This motion did refer to the Goldstone Report criticising both Israel and Hamas for human rights abuses, and was therefore felt to be the more balanced of the motions up for debate.  However this one was not on today’s agenda.

The debate today was indeed heated, though speakers against both motions were heard by conference and put the case against cutting off relations with the Israeli trade union congress Histadrut.

Motion 96 called for example for continued support for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and The Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions and work with civil society organisations in Israel that oppose current Israeli government policy towards Palestine.  This motion was passed with an amendment that condemned recent action by Mossad in killing a Hamas leader in Dubai and the reaction of the British government to that event.

The Emergency motion “Israel’s Attack on the Flotilla” was proposed by Islington, Manchester and Wolverhampton local government branches.  The motion called on an economic and cultural boycott of Israel, expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and suspension of UNISON relations with Histadrut.  Speakers against the motion were not uncritical of the actions of the Israeli government but called for constructive engagement with Israel and referred to the violent actions of Hamas.  Debate was cut short by a procedural move to call the vote before all speakers against the motion had their turn, including a Housing Associations Branch delegate.  The motion was passed by conference.