The main excitement on Wednesday was motion 2/1 from the Executive Council, which removed “so far as may be lawful from rule “2.1 The objects of the Union shall, as far as may be lawful, be:”. Len McCluskey gave a great speech arguing why it was …Read more…
Unite Rules Conference – day two
Tuesday’s business was less contentious than Monday’s, but covered a wide range of issues.
In the debate on retired members, Assistant General Secretary Steve Turner clarified that “Executive Statements”, if passed, do actually change rules – it is up…Read more…
Unite Rules Conference – day one
Most of the contentious business was crammed into day one.It started lively, with conference decisively supporting my move to reject the Executive Council’s undemocratic Standing Orders. Despite knowing in advance that the challenge was coming the lead…Read more…
Stop the power grab at Unite Rules Conference
Unite’s leadership is engaged in an anti-democratic power grab and delegates need to be ready to put a stop to it.
Unite’s Rules Conference starts on Monday and delegates have been sent a 160 page book of motions to change our rule book. The sh…Read more…
Give our members confidence that they can make a difference
#uNDC15 As conference condemned the growing inequality in this country and backed a national and international political campaign to rebalance the economy to deliver a fair distribution of wealth, Aberdeenshire’s Kate Ramsden issued a challenge to all delegates, calling on them to get the message out to our members that austerity is not just bad for our members and the services we provide, but isRead more…
Facility time is vital for unions but also for employers
#ulgc15 Delegates slammed attacks on the trade union facility time and called on the union to support our members with training, finance and other resources to fight these attacks but also to organise to increase our activist base.
Moving the motion for the Service Group Executive, Western Isles Alison MacCorquodale delivered an excellent maiden speech and told delegates that securing andRead more…
Zero tolerance, training and involving staff are key to dealing with violence in schools
#ulgc15 Local Government Conference heard the problems of challenging behaviour in schools from the front line as two Scotland delegates brought their experience to the debate.
Glasgow City’s Sylvia Haughney, a support for learning instructor for 34 years, told delegates: “Staff in mainstream school may find it hard to understand that when an ASN colleague has been slapped six times during theRead more…
Arbitrary freeze on teacher numbers – bad for our members, bad for our children
#uLGC15 North Lanarkshire’s John Mooney brought a Scottish perspective to the debate on organising in schools as Local Government delegates backed a range of measures to support recruitment in schools and campaigning of school issues.
John slammed the Scottish Government’s insistence on an arbitrary freeze on teacher numbers. He warned, “This ill thought out, non scientific, arbitrary freeze onRead more…
Bring together library members to share and learn
#uLGC15 Falkirk’s Gray Allan warned UNISON’s Local Government Conference of the dangers of outsourcing library services as Local Government delegates pledged to campaign against the closure of library and leisure services but also called for support and training to engage in commissioning and procurement to ensure that UNISON can play an integral role in protecting jobs and services.
A librarianRead more…
What does the Labour leadership election mean for the radical left?
My article below first appeared on Novaramedia.
Apologies for the long break in updates to this blog. I’ve been unwell, but hope to gradually resume normal service now.
What does the Labour leadership election mean for the radical left?