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Industrial strength and political solutions

GAIL CARTMAIL argues that Unite’s workplace victories must be underlined by a ballot-box victory for Labour

THE services, energy and construction section is the most diverse in Unite. It covers council workers, civil servants, higher education workers, NHS staff, charity and not-for-profit staff, energy workers, bank workers and construction workers.

However, despite the vastly differences challenges in each sector, there is more that binds us together then divides us.

Industrially, what all workers have in common first and foremost is the determination and desire to tackle “pickpocket employers” who exist in both the private and public sectors and look to enrich themselves by suppressing the pay of our members and attacking their hard fought for conditions, including: redundancy pay, rotas and rest days, shifts, call-out payments, travel, holidays and unfair job evaluation.

It is often decent conditions that make difficult and challenging jobs tolerable. When Unite members stand together we are able tackle the “pickpocket employers” and stop them robbing our members of their rights.

The pickpockets don’t always immediately realise the strength of Unite or the power of collective action. That is why Unite regularly ballots members for industrial action, although this is always a last resort. Facing a strike is a great way to wake employers up and force them to properly negotiate.

The most common form of industrial action is over pay but workers in our sector have in the past two years also embarked on industrial action over staffing levels, pay parity, improving bonuses and union recognition.

It is a mark of the ability of Unite’s reps and officers that when we secure a legal mandate for industrial action, the vast majority of disputes are resolved before any form action is necessary. Through the collective support of workers behind us and with our negotiating skills we are able to thrash out an acceptable deal.

Yet, if employers fail to come to their senses and strike action is necessary, Unite always backs its members to the hilt.

Which is why when activists gather in Brighton today we will pause to send our solidarity wishes to Unite members employed at Bradford libraries, Frimley Park hospital in Surrey and health visitors in Lincoln — all of whom are taking industrial action today.

Through our collective strength Unite can and does win. In recent weeks those wins have included motorway maintenance workers in the south-east at Connect Plus Service, who after years of hard work finally secured formal recognition for 260 members.

In London, Greenwich housing repair workers were able to secure an agreement on pay and a commitment to bring more work in-house following a threat of strike action, and in Wales nurses at Betsi Cadwaladr Hospital won their campaign to oppose unfair roster changes.

While the work of Unite is overwhelmingly industrial, no union can operate successfully in a void; our industrial muscle is aligned with our political campaigning. Many issues faced by our members ultimately require a political solution.

For example, many of the problems that beset our construction members such as poor safety, a hire-and-fire culture, the failure to plan for the long term, a lack of pension provision and a dearth of apprentices, all emanate from the industry’s addiction to bogus self-employment. This will not be resolved until such immoral and destructive practices are made illegal once and for all.

Equally, our members in the NHS, in local authorities and higher education are not going to find an answer to their problems of excessive hours and increasing workloads until central government begins to reverse the huge cuts in funding that these essential sectors have suffered in the last decade.

Another crucial issue is the need to reverse the decades of outsourcing that have seen key parts of our public sector hived off to the private sector for profit, which has damaged services and resulted in workers being overworked and underpaid.

Labour’s commitment to insourcing, to properly fund our public services and to end divisive exploitative employment practices are game changers which will make the lives of our members better.

Labour’s transformative policies go far further. For example, in the last 30 years two-thirds of bank branches have closed, and up and down Britain there is an increasing number of communities where there is not a single bank branch.

Branch closures are bad for workers in the finance sector and bad for local communities, as it is the poorest who suffer from financial exclusion.

The message from the Unite sector conference this week will be clear. Where Unite is strong workers are able to fight back against bad bosses, to increase pay and to ensure fair treatment.

However, to secure the radical and profound change in society that workers desperately want and deserve it is essential that a Labour government is elected next month.

A better world is within our grasp and through our collective endeavours and through the ballot box we can ensure that is achieved.

Gail Cartmail is assistant general secretary of Unite.

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