Delegates at the TGWU recall conference
held in December voted overwhelmingly to endorse the proposed Instrument of
Amalgamation with Amicus. Members of the T&G and Amicus will be balloted in
February with a recommendation from both the unions Executives to vote yes.
Socialist Appeal is not opposed to the principle of a democratic merger
wherever that helps to improve bargaining strength. But the proposals contained
in the Instrument of Amalgamation will not achieve that aim. Socialist Appeal
supporters argued for a delay in the merger timetable and a recall conference
that would allow further lay input to propose democratic alternatives. But a
motion calling for a recall conference was rejected at the Amicus Executive
meeting in October. The TGWU recall conference was not allowed to propose
amendments after a proposal from TGWU Region 6 was defeated at the TGWU
Executive and the conference could only vote on a 'take it or leave it' proposal.
The proposed instrument removes the
election of Officials rule that left supporters in Amicus struggled so hard to
achieve. When the election of Officials rule was abolished by the right wing Jackson regime in one of
the predecessor unions to Amicus, the AEEU, it took a whole decade to restore.
It is said that there will be an opportunity for rank & file members to
alter the rules of a new union in November 2010. But that could be delayed even
more if any new mergers, such as with the GMB, push back the timetable still
further as happened in the AEEU/MSF merger. It is not just election of
officials in Amicus that is at stake. The whole role of a branch will be
denigrated. In Amicus a branch will no longer be able to elect delegates and
send resolutions to a Regional Branch Conference and from there to the National
Conference. The 25% representation from branches at conferences and committees,
as currently under Amicus rules, will be abolished. Regional Council finances
will be cut by half. The number of delegates to Policy Conference will be cut
by half and Rules Conference by three-quarters.
In the TGWU delegates are elected from
branches to attend the union conference. Under the new proposed rules only
branch officers and workplace reps will be allowed to attend conferences or
stand for election, and the rules on how delegates to conference will be
elected have yet to be drawn up! In both unions Branches will not even be
entitled to elect delegates to local Trade Councils, Labour Party
Constituencies or any other local bodies as the regions will take over this
function. The proposed Joint Executive will only be represented by 15 members
from each union with many sectors having no representation as a result. The
running of the union will be in the hands of the two General Secretaries in
between meetings, with no requirement to account for their actions to the
Executive. The General Secretaries will also have a right of veto over all
proposals unless 75% of the Joint Executive vote to overturn a decision. The proposal
for Derek Simpson to stay on to 66 flies in the face of the arguments he used
against Jackson's
extension of office and for a policy of early retirement in 2002.
Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson have used
the argument that a new union will be able to more effectively fight for
members and have invoked the spirit of the Trade Union pioneers who built the
trade union movement out of struggle. But this proposed Instrument of
Amalgamation will instead serve to create a giant monolithic bureaucracy that will
further prevent members from challenging the leadership when they repudiate
strike action such as happened at the Wembley stadium dispute and in the Gate
Gourmet dispute. That is why Socialist Appeal supporters are not prepared to
abandon hard fought for democracy, and are opposed to these proposed merger
terms that members will be balloted with in February.
