Unison Conference 18th—24th June 2006—Delegates Report
If you think that conference is a holiday, think again. Interesting yes, stimulating yes, restful no!
On arrival, Saturday evening, there is a Wales Region delegates meeting to attend and feelings are already running high. Proposed changes to LG Pensions and the perceived shortcomings of national strategy has got everyone fired up. Because so many delegates want to participate in the following days debate the advice is to start queuing at 9:00am next morning.
Local Government Conference is on Sunday and Monday and it’s a 9:30 start so no lay ins!
Debates on amongst other things pay—no 2% limit and no more multi year deals, the fourth option for council housing and inequalities of term time only pay
The main event was pensions, a composite motion endorsing national strategy was narrowly carried on a card vote. The alternative motion calling for an immediate ballot for resumption of industrial action was never debated thanks to some clever orchestration by the chair on a point of order, thinly disguised as inexperience. National negotiators appear to be pinning the success of the campaign on a judicial review challenging the Attorney Generals advice that the Rule of 85 is illegal and has to be removed.
Tuesday sees the start of National Delegate Conference and for one day only the luxury of a 10:00 start.
Motions were carried calling for campaigns to increase Social Care Spending, the NEC to campaign to ensure the government assesses the impact of offshoring, the case for adult rights and obligations at age 16, to defend jobs and public services and oppose privatisation and for regions and the NEC to work with “Keep our NHS Public” campaign.
Tuesday afternoon, and for a non-fan of football, the spectacle of Unisons General Secretary taking the rostrum to the strains of a football anthem was less than inspiring. however as conference coincided with the World Cup I was willing to concede that it was topical.
Dave Prentis made a “rallying the troops” speech, with lots of praise for those who took part in the Industrial Action in support of Pensions, calling on the Labour Government to abandon attacks on public services and not take our union’s support for granted. Only time will tell if he was really marking the governments card or merely making the right noises to pacify delegates and curb the calls, from the far left of the membership, for the creation of a new party of the labour movement and withdrawal of Unisons financial support for the Labour Party.
Wednesday saw the return to the Pensions debate, and a number of impassioned speeches deploring the loss of momentum in the LGPS dispute through premature suspension of Industrial Action. Two of the best were delivered by Wales Local Governments delegates and they received enthusiastic applause.
Motions were carried instructing the NEC to campaign for more generous state pensions in general, to support service groups in the continuing negotiations and do everything to sustain an effective campaign.
In recent years Rule changes have been some of the most contentious issues and this year did not disappoint. The NEC put forward amendments to allow new members to be eligible for 1. Legal Assistance and 2. members benefits after 4 weeks instead of the existing 13. Following heated debate the first proposal regarding Legal Assistance was narrowly lost on a card vote, the NEC made a strategic withdrawal of the second proposal.
Friday mornings debates Centred around Energy Policy and the environment. In the face of NEC opposition an amendment was carried instructing the NEC to campaign for an Energy Policy which included: bringing the large energy companies back under state ownership and control—strangely “In Focus” seem to have omitted that one from their conference report.
It must have been a long week for the Chairperson who came in for a lot of criticism and if she thought it would tail off towards the end she was sadly mistaken. Her announcement that conference would close at 3:30 instead of 4:00 prompted numerous points of order deploring the tactics to curb debate on serious issues.
Motions that don’t make it onto the order of business are referred back to the NEC and then of course there’s always next year……
Linda Ingram—Assistant Branch Secretary