UNISON conference 2024 applauding strikers. Photo by rs21 UNISON member.

UNISON conference backs Palestine, organising, strikes and trans rights

rs21 members in UNISON report that the recent National Delegate Conference saw continued progress and highlighted areas for campaigning and reform.

In 2020 UNISON members elected Christina McAnea as General Secretary, ahead of three candidates who claimed to be of the left, on a turnout of 10.5%. In contrast, its National Executive Committee (NEC) has a narrow majority of Time for Real Change (TfRC) supporters, who argue for organising, greater militancy, and the democratisation of the union. TfRC is a Broad Left-style network of rank and file activists challenging the full-time bureaucracy’s hold over the union. It is also more independent from the Labour Party, despite many supporters being Labour members. For example, the NEC voted down a proposal to invite MPs to address the conference who had failed to back a ceasefire in Gaza.

At this year’s conference 175-200 delegates attended the TfRC fringe meeting, and most delegates supported the TfRC approach. Criticism of Starmer’s Labour and calls to fight for change after the election brought more applause than McAnea’s pleas to back Labour.

The gradual turn away from a model where members pay for a service from the union towards an organising model is starting to deliver some results. Delegates unanimously backed motions strengthening policy on organising. Local strikes are generally winning, including £70m so far in the Pay Fair for Patient Care strikes by Health Care Assistants (HCAs). Key strikes including those by Barnet social workers and HCAs continue. A parade of strikers from different disputes was met by a standing ovation from conference.

The picture in big national disputes such as health and local government, has been much less rosy. UNISON, Unite and GMB all failed to meet the ballot thresholds in the Trade Union Act 2016 in enough employers to have an impact.

Policy around the right to strike remains weak. Though every speaker backed the repeal of all the anti-union legislation, conference was prevented from discussing motions which went further than Labour’s ‘pledge’ to repeal legislation from 2016 onwards because the Standing Orders Committee (SOC) ruled them all ‘out of order’, even including one from the NEC.

Delegates united across political divisions to oppose the way SOC prevented conference discussing important issues, repeatedly and overwhelmingly rejecting its decisions. But this was not enough to get them back on the agenda. Delegates were often cowed by claims that actions might put the union in ‘legal jeopardy’, despite these claims being vague and often absurd. Conference was even barred from discussing the victimisation of Lewisham branch secretary Justine Canady. However, the conference did celebrate Fiona Mercer’s Supreme Court win against detriment short of dismissal for taking part in a strike.

Overall, accelerating recruitment and better member retention has led to modest net membership growth three years’ running. The 7,000 last year is dwarfed by the 21,000 so far in 2024. Significant growth in activist recruitment is encouraging for the future, but the average age of a UNISON activist is 57.

Delegates heard from Palestinian ambassador Dr Husam Zamlot and almost everyone stood up with ‘ceasefire now’ placards. He also spoke at a packed fringe meeting.

Pihoto by rs21 UNISON member.

UNISON adopted a confused ‘composite’ motion D on Palestine which nonetheless represented a step forward. As well as backing an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid, release of hostages and Palestinians wrongfully held in Israeli prisons, it called for the suspension of the arms trade with Israel, banning of trade with illegal settlements, and the recognition of a viable, continuous Palestinian state. It committed UNISON to continue using Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), including pushing for Local Government Pension Schemes to divest.

However, it also said that the Palestinian state should exist ‘alongside Israel’ (as if an apartheid state is OK as long as there’s an inclusive one next door) and called for an end to weapons transfers to Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups. Despite UNISON rejecting the portrayal of BDS as antisemitic, delegates were repeatedly told off for using the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ on the grounds that this was offensive and that members employed as civilian police staff would have to report anyone who used it to the police. Nonetheless, activists can use the motion to build more solidarity action in workplaces and branches.

The position on Ukraine was much worse. Conference adopted motion 95 by a comfortable majority. While expressing solidarity with Ukraine against the Russian invasion, it failed to criticise the West’s use of the war to expand NATO, increase arms spending and ratchet up inter-imperialist competition. It included support for the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign which has a bad record of amplifying pro-NATO messages. It was unfortunate that the debate was curtailed before anyone could speak against who acknowledged the Ukrainian right to resist Russia’s imperialist invasion.

Conference agreed amendment 31.1 from the National Young Members’ Forum opposing increases in military expenditure and arguing for the money to be invested in public services and infrastructure.

Delegates adopted strong positions on trans rights in the year of LGBT+ workers. Motion 71 from the NEC afformed that ‘The rights of trans people do not conflict with or reduce the rights of other oppressed groups’ and ‘Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary people exist and should be respected’. It is telling that the UK’s biggest union, whose membership is 70% female, could pass this motion without opposition, when the right claim such positions threaten women’s rights. Conference also agreed to change the rulebook to remove gendered language, and to enable non-binary members to stand for regional NEC seats which had previously been allocated to men. Delegates supported motion 39 on access for all to domestic abuse services, challenging inadequate provision.

Conference opposed racism and the hostile environment, but amendment 6.3 supporting free movement was defeated. This shows how much work remains to be done to win the argument against immigration controls, despite UNISON having 190,000 Black members. During conference the news came through that UNISON had won a legal challenge to the government’s decision to scrap key recommendations from the review into the Windrush scandal. The role of the police came up several times, with young members prominent in challenging their racism, sexism and bigotry. At times this got confused with the role of police civilian staff, many of whom are in UNISON, and some of whom felt targeted by this criticism. An amendment opposing ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF), which excludes 2.6 million people from the social safety net, fell off the agenda on the final day when too many delegates had left to allow business to continue. It will be up to the NEC to consider this and the many other motions that weren’t voted on due to lack of time.

Conference also backed motions on cuts, funding of public services, a 4-day week, stress and disability rights. There was relatively little discussion about the climate crisis (motion 63) but the scandal of water pollution came up repeatedly. Passing motion 40 means UNISON finally backs Zane’s law, named after a child killed by toxic fumes after flooding released gas from an unregulated landfill site, which was then covered up by the authorities.

It was clear how much work remains to be done to democratise UNISON. As well as the role of SOC in preventing delegates discussing important issues, delegates heard that NEC members have only just secured access to full information about the union’s finances, due to the taking of a legal case in 2023 by an NEC member which was successful. After a lively debate delegates comfortably rejected motion 14, which would have prevented activists speaking in a personal capacity while referencing their UNISON role. Activists do this when attending events not officially backed by UNISON, or if they aren’t confident that everything they say will be in line with union policy. This motion would have created a minefield for activists who didn’t know every dot and comma of union policy, curtailed activist involvement in new campaigns on which there was not yet policy, and stifled solidarity with unofficial action. This motion was a key issue for the right at conference and would have given paid staff more power relative to members. Its defeat is an encouraging sign that the renewal of UNISON will continue.

rs21 members handed out this leaflet at the conference as well as selling books and pamphlets and promoting this year’s Troublemakers At Work conference.

Edit note: This article was edited on 28 June 2024 to correct two inaccuracies.