With new industrial strikes and local disputes seemingly being announced on a daily basis, Unite is at the forefront of the fightback against the onslaught on workers’ jobs, pay, and conditions.
Indeed, since the union’s last conference, Unite has been engaged in over 800 disputes. But the mood at this year’s Unite conference indicated this is only the beginning.
Members are preparing for a sustained fightback against the bosses and the Tory government. Indeed, this was one of the main messages coming out of general secretary Sharon Graham’s speech at the policy conference.
“Whatever hurdles they put in our way we will jump them. If they tax our strike pay we will add the tax on,” Graham announced, referring to Tory plans to attack workers’ rights. “If they try and force people to break our strikes we will use strikes plus.”
“We didn’t change our rule book to work outside the law if necessary, to make it neater. We changed it for the days to come,” the union leader stated. “Unite will defend its members by all and every means.”
Anti-union laws
From questions of automation and the environment, to the Labour Party and job losses: delegates descended on Brighton to discuss and debate the key issues facing the union and its members – and how Unite is set to respond to the challenges facing our class in the coming period.
One of the key issues discussed was the need to smash anti-union laws – and in particular the Minimum Service Levels Bill the government is set on passing.
As the organised working class has moved back into action, the chains that weigh down the unions from fighting back are being felt more and more.
The policy conference, however, committed the union to launching a fightback against them and for “coordinated solidarity action” to be organised if Unite or any sister union faces anti-strike legislation.
Another composite motion even called for the union to pressure the TUC into calling a one-day general strike to defeat the bill.
As one of the largest unions in the country, this is exactly the kind of fighting lead the union must give to the wider trade union movement. Unite’s leadership must ensure these commitments are not buried or shied away from, but are taken up as soon as possible.
Motion blocked
Unfortunately however, not all notions were heard at the Congress. On Tuesday afternoon, a motion calling for the union to fight for a sliding scale of wages – i.e. for pay to be automatically linked to inflation – was bureaucratically remitted. This took away the opportunity for delegates to discuss and vote on this vital policy.
Drafted by supporters of Socialist Appeal, and put forward by the Education RISC (London and Eastern), the motion was remitted for the reasoning that union negotiators require “full autonomy”.
The motion, if passed, would apparently have restricted negotiators to only fighting for above RPI deals.
This is a – perhaps wilful – misinterpretation of the motion. The motion called for the union “to fight for pay deals that deliver wages that are tied to rise in line with inflation in a rising sliding scale in all pay disputes”, and demanded that any employer which refuses to pay this to open their books and prove they can’t.
If doing so shows that this is genuinely the case, then the union should demand for said companies to be nationalised and placed under workers’ control. After all, if workers can’t be paid real, living wages, then why should their bosses be allowed to continue making mega-profits?
This wouldn’t have ‘restricted’ negotiators, but simply set a benchmark for which the union should fight for first and foremost in all disputes. Indeed, in this time of capitalist crisis and runaway inflation, such a demand should be the minimum the trade union movement fights for.
MOTION BLOCKED 🚨: At Unite policy conference this afternoon, a motion calling for Unite to fight for pay to be automatically linked to inflation was bureaucratically remitted taking away the opportunity for delegates to discuss and vote on it.
— Socialist Appeal (@socialist_app) July 11, 2023
Importantly, the motion called for a cross‐union campaign to fight collectively for these demands, and to coordinate action with sister unions against employers that refuse it.
Regardless of this bureaucratic block, Socialist Appeal supporters will continue to fight for militant socialist demands – such as a sliding scale of wages – to be taken up by Unite and all trade unions, as an answer to the bosses’ attacks on our living standards.
Starmer
One of the key questions confronting the union at this year’s conferences was that of its relationship to Labour, given the party’s stark rightwards turn under ‘Sir’ Keir Starmer.
As previously reported, the union voted to retain its affiliation to the party – albeit with stern threats from Graham, who put the Labour leader “on notice”.
And as an example of the continuation of the tie between the union and the party, Starmer himself even made a visit to the conference, giving a speech today (Thursday).
In this, he trotted out his usual pro-business spiel – reportedly sending some delegates to sleep.
Playing to his audience, Starmer stated his commitment to repealing the anti-strike bill, banning zero-hour contracts, instituting higher wages, and investing in industry.
At the same time, as is expected from Starmer now, these hollow promises were accompanied by noises about greater class collaboration: welcoming partnerships with business, and calling for greater links between the bosses and Labour to ensure economic stability, compared to the current “Tory chaos”.
Not everyone welcomed the presence of this big business stooge at the conference, with a small protest taking place outside the Brighton Centre before Starmer took to stage.
This should come as no surprise. After all, this is the same Labour leader who has forced his MPs not to join striking workers on picket lines.
Although Starmer was on stage today appealing to Unite members, the battles looming will inevitably result in clashes between the union and any future Labour government.
Militant union
For now, the Tories are likely with us for at least another year – if they do not collapse before the next election. And the coming months will see continued attacks by the ruling class on workers’ wages.
From raising interest rates, squeezing real wages in the public sector, or overseeing the continued decline of the NHS: the Tories, bosses, and bankers are intent on making the working class pay for the crisis.
Unite could play an important role in cutting short the Tories’ term and toppling them from power, if it mobilised its full industrial weight and might.
Indeed, the union’s leaders could call on the wider labour movement to mobilise for a mass campaign – of coordinated action, demonstrations, and protest – to push the Tories out for good, and to establish a real “workers’ economy”.
As the enthusiasm for Enough is Enough showed last year, there would no doubt be popular support for such a campaign, if it boldly called for workers and youth to mobilise against the government and the capitalists.
Currently, however, Unite’s leadership is in a struggle between those supportive of Sharon Graham and the old, bureaucratic United Left faction, who are wanting to put a break on the transformation taking place in the union.
The direction of the union therefore hangs in the balance.
Rank-and-file activists in their day-to-day struggles should actively participate in this struggle: getting involved in the newly-established broad left around Graham, Workers Unite; and arguing the case for bold policies to further democratise the union and put determined class fighters in the driving seat.
Only on this basis can we take power away from bureaucrats, unlock the full potential of ordinary members, and give militant workers control over their union and their struggles.
This should be linked to a push for the union to fight for clear socialist policies – including nationalisation, workers’ control, and the planning of industry according to need, not profit – to genuinely address the issues our class is facing.
These are the demands Socialist Appeal supporters are raising in Unite. We urge all those looking for a militant, democratic, fighting union to join us in this task.
