Grim union: SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW

Scrap Labour

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:26:31 GMT

Unison is the UK's biggest public-sector union. It's affiliated to the Labour party, and claims to influence government policy through this Labour link.

Alas - a decade of public sector privatisation and government attacks on public sector pensions and pay has left Unison members feeling that New Labour has delivered nothing for ordinary union members.

Unison members want to cut the party loose.

The union's powerful bureaucrats, though, want nothing of the kind. Desperate to stay close to the New Labour government - and to the benefits of that access - the union hierarchy is expelling popular activists who publicly state that Unison should leave Labour behind. Union members are up in arms about these attacks on branch officers and secretaries. The uglier rumours have it that the union might even split.

'Our union leaders fear an open debate over whether we should carry on funding the Labour party.

'They know that ordinary members are asking - why do we continue to lose on pay? Why do we continue to see our services privatised, and why do we continue to hand over thousands of pounds of ordinary members' money to a political party that is intent on attacking us?'
Glenn Kelly, Bromley Unison branch secretary.

The convenience of racism

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:59:50 GMT

How this witchhunt began:

At Unison's 2007 national conference, the Hackney, Greenwich, Bromley and Housing Corporation Unison branches circulated a leaflet that accused the Unison leadership of closing down debate about the merits funding Labour.

The leaflet featured the well-known Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil image of three monkeys. The picture was meant as a comment on Unison's refusal to allow conference delegates to debate the funding of Labour. (The union's powerful standing orders committee had ruled branch motions on funding the Labour party at conference out of order).

The union's bureaucrats weren't amused by the leaflet, and its authors suddenly found themselves under attack:

National black members' committee Chair Bev Miller stood up in front of conference and pronounced the picture of the three monkeys racist (the chair of the standing orders committee was black).

And so it grew. Officers from the branches that produced the leaflet - branch secretaries Matthew Waterfall, Suzanne Muna, Onay Kasab and Glenn Kelly and branch chair Brian Debus - were called racists in front of their union peers, and placed under union investigation.

An important point: Kelly, Muna, Debus and Kasab are all Socialist party members.

That mightn't mean much - except that Socialist party activists are the union members who are calling most loudly for Unison to break ties with Labour. It's a call that resonates with rank-and-file union members.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Unison dropped the charges against Matthew Waterfall. Waterfall was the only one of the original five who was not a Socialist party member.

Picture: Greenwich Unison member and library assistant Bruce Jerran and the offending three monkeys image.

Beyond socialism

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:14:25 GMT

The investigation into the conduct of Glenn Kelly, Suzanne Muna, Onay Kasab and Brian Debus has dragged on for more than a year. All four still face expulsion.

Glenn Kelly is one of the few left-wing members of Unison's powerful, elected national executive council. He's also the long-time, and popular, branch secretary of the Bromley local government Unison branch.

He has always been loathed by Unison's New Labourites, and considered, in some circles, as the sort of charasmatic activist who might seriously threaten the union's rightwing leadership. Certainly, he draws large crowds from the grassroots.

'It is a scandal that no matter what crimes New Labour heaps on union members - pay cuts, an onslaught of privatisation, and attacks on our jobs - we aren't allowed to debate the funding of the Labour party.

'There is a cry for members on the ground to stop handing of millions of pounds to a political party that is intent on attacking us. It's the political equivalent of buying your boss a pair of Doc Martens to give you a kicking with.'

Picture: Glenn Kelly at a demonstration in Bournemouth, June 2008.

Onay Kasab

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:25:49 GMT

Of Turkish Cypriot descent, Onay Kasab - 'Kas' - has an impressive record as a union and anti-racism activist.

He was one of the civil service activists who organised strike action to protest at the hiring of the fascist Malcolm Skeggs.

As Greenwich Unison branch secretary, he and his branch won one of the best single status deals for low-paid workers in the country.

He speaks often of the union's paranoia.

'If you want an indication [of how oppressive Unison's bureacuracy is]... when our members turned up and lobbied [Unison] on the first day of our disciplinary hearing, a small group protestors went to see [Unison General Secretary] Dave Prentis.

'Did Dave Prentis come out to talk to them? No. He sent a temporary worker out with a camera to photograph the delegation.'

Picture: Onay Kasab

People revolt

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:06:42 GMT

Hundreds of people have turned out at rallies to protest about Unison's victimising of the four popular activists.

In June, protestors made the trip from London to Bournemouth to demonstrate about the witchhunt at Unison's 2008 national conference.

They weren't all Unison members: Plenty were people who knew and had worked with the four activists - and who took a very dim view of Unison's racism allegations.

'It's rubbish,' said Greenwich Council of Racial Equality Director Makhan Bajwa. 'I know Kas well. We've demonstrated together on anti-racism marches. He was always with us.'

'It's great that all these people have come down here [to Bournemouth] to support their branch secretary,' said Annie Donovan, a Greenwich council senior librarian.

'What worries me is the number of people [being victimised by Unison]. There's a new one now - the one from Northern Ireland. This campaign is to defend the four, but it should be six or eight by now.'

Picture: Makhan Bajwa at a Stop the Witchhunt protest.

Heart of darkness

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 20:57:28 GMT

Unison's loathed Greater London Regional office is felt by many activists to be at the heart of the union's campaign to rid the union of leftwing activists.

London activists believe that this office obstructs requests for strike action, and takes too great - and oppressive - an interest in the running of union branches.

Onay Kasab has told a number of meetings that he believes the London office's commitment to eliminating racism ebbs and flows.

'I got a leaflet through my door from the BNP recently. One of the leaflets had the face of a retired member of Greenwich Unison on it - [someone who is] now a proud member of the BNP.

'I asked [Unison Greater London regional secretary] Linda Perks what we should do about it, and her response was, 'well… legally there is not a lot we can do... we don't want to give the BNP the oxygen of publicity...'

Picture: Linda Perks

Suzanne Muna

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:46:22 GMT

Certainly, activists feel the union abandons them when they most need support.

Unison housing corporation branch secretary Suzanne Muna is one. Her employers came after her when they realised that she was in trouble with Unison. They knew she was vulnerable.

'I'm being disciplined by my employer for [allegedly aggressively] representing a member of support staff.

'I haven't been able to accept Unison representation over my fight with my employer. The union told me not to fight the allegation. They said I should just appeal for the lightest possible sentence. That's what Unison told me.'

She believes Unison wants Socialist party activists out. 'I definitely think they want to expel us. There's been no deal offered, or anything like that. I think sometimes that they don't know what to do next.'

Picture: Suzanne Muna, Bournemouth 2008.

Game of one half

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:42:00 GMT

Hackney Unison branch chair Brian Debus finds Unison's standing orders committee purely ridiculous.

He says that the committee makes up its reasons for throwing anti-New Labour motions off conference agendas as it goes along.

'Last year, our industrial action motion was ruled out of order as a non competent motion, and the election of paid officials motion was ruled out because it was in conflict of the rules.

'This year, we thought we'd put the same motions in for the hell of it. They were both ruled out again, but this time – even though the standing orders committee was the same – the explanation was that the motions could place the union in legal jeopardy.

'They're not even consistent. They don't even understand their own bloody rules.'

Picture: Brian Debus

All out

info (at) snapsthoughts (dot) com (SnapsThoughts: Britain from BELOW) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:17:37 GMT

The expulsion of Kelly, Muna, Kasab and Debus would be no joke for union members.

Union members rely on committed and experienced branch leaders to accurately interpret complex workplace legislation, policy and procedures, put cohesive arguments to management, and to campaign on their behalf.

If experienced activists are expelled, union members suffer that loss.

Kasab says that Greenwich union members are already starting to suffer, because council management knows that he has been abandoned by the Unison machine.

'There was a rumour at Greenwich that I had already gone. Then, we found out [from union members] that their managers had told them that their pay would be cut.' Thinking that their union branch secretary was out of the way, management felt free to cut staff pay.

Pity nobody is able to discipline the union bureaucrats, says Kelly.

'The [union] bureaucracy has refused to lead a national pay campaign, has sold us out as far as pensions are concerned, and has left branches to fight branch by branch as far as single status was concerned. They're the people who deserve to be on the block.'

The investigation hearings have been postponed until after this week's strike action. No new date has been set.

Picture: Suzanne Muna, Glenn Kelly, Onay Kasab.