UNISON back down despite vote for strike action
Jack | 31.10.2007 08:27 | Health | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements
Despite zero concessions from employers and a vote in favour of strikes, public sector union UNISON have backed down from announcing strike action over an across the board pay cut (also known as a below inflation "pay rise").
Citing the low turnout and the close result of the ballot, the UNISON National joint council rejected industrial action by a large vote. The result stood at 51.6% in support of action, with a 24.4% turnout. However, many members did not recieve ballot papers in time - or indeed at all - as a result of the recent postal workers dispute. In many council offices (even those closest to UNISON HQ) it has been reported up to half of members have even now not recieved ballot papers - even those who went through the process to request a replacement. There were also unfortunate problems in timing, with many of the papers that arrived towards the final date for voting arriving during the half-term period, when many members would be away.
Of course, this is the exact result that the anti-union laws aim to achieve. The requirement to a slow and heavily regulated ballot acted to both remove momentum from the dispute, and give an excuse to the union to not act. In this situation, this was compounded by both the employers and UNISON allowing the dispute to drag out for 7 months.
The accepted offer of 2.475% is significantly below the increase in cost of living, and is the 4th consecutive year that UNISON has accepted a paycut for members without any serious action. UNISON have claimed it is now 'last chance saloon' on public sector pay, but given this record it would seem hard for anyone - the government - to take this seriously. When the next round of pay negotiations begins in 5 months UNISON's lack of resolve on this occassion will place them in an even worse position than this year.
One member we spoke to reacted angrily. "A lot of people in my office are pissed off about the deal and it dragging on so long with little result. And it's not just the employers people are angry at, it's the union - people are starting to wonder why they pay their dues, and why the hell the union are supporting the party in government that has cut our wages for 4 years in a row. The more cynical amongst us are starting to think that this support might have something to do with how spinelessly they've acted."
Of course, this is the exact result that the anti-union laws aim to achieve. The requirement to a slow and heavily regulated ballot acted to both remove momentum from the dispute, and give an excuse to the union to not act. In this situation, this was compounded by both the employers and UNISON allowing the dispute to drag out for 7 months.
The accepted offer of 2.475% is significantly below the increase in cost of living, and is the 4th consecutive year that UNISON has accepted a paycut for members without any serious action. UNISON have claimed it is now 'last chance saloon' on public sector pay, but given this record it would seem hard for anyone - the government - to take this seriously. When the next round of pay negotiations begins in 5 months UNISON's lack of resolve on this occassion will place them in an even worse position than this year.
One member we spoke to reacted angrily. "A lot of people in my office are pissed off about the deal and it dragging on so long with little result. And it's not just the employers people are angry at, it's the union - people are starting to wonder why they pay their dues, and why the hell the union are supporting the party in government that has cut our wages for 4 years in a row. The more cynical amongst us are starting to think that this support might have something to do with how spinelessly they've acted."
Jack
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Comments
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Are Unison and some Members a Waste of Space?
31.10.2007 14:15
When they send out the ballots for union officials (local or national) I always write `no vote without meetings`.
I was a union activist when in the NCU (now part of CWU), but am now only a casual worker so I feel I dont have a remit for being a union rep and also extremely vulnerable to not having any work.
When I tried to organise the branch into getting the other casuals (mainly seasonal) into the union, I was told the union didn`t really want them. These could be potential union members of the future but now more than likely lost forever.
Some of this is also the members fault as the majority cannot be bothered to turn up to meetings resulting in unquorate attendance.
I believe all Unions should organise at a grass roots level for an active membership, not just a direct debit of union dues which are are now regarded as a insurance policy. However a strong grass roots can upset the cosy relationship which makes you a danger to the Executive/Paid officials, re the Postal Workers wildcat strikes.
M Ram
Waste of space?
31.10.2007 15:54
Carol Laidlaw