By Tom Barker
Socialist Alternative members travelled from across England, Wales and Scotland to gather in Manchester on Sunday 2 March for a national trade union meeting, aimed at discussing, amongst other things, perspectives for union struggle, how to win disputes, and how to organise effectively in workplaces.
The meeting began with an outline of the state of the union movement in Britain today. While the union movement remains in a weakened state, especially when compared to its zenith many decades earlier, the potential for this to change today is in general very positive.
The 2022-23 strike wave was the biggest confrontation between workers and the bosses Britain had seen in the last 40 years. Although no clear victor emerged, some sections of workers were able to force the employers to make significantly improved pay offers. This was a direct result of either strikes or threatened strikes, which were themselves widely supported by the wider public.
Fittingly, the first discussion was led by a workplace rep in the National Education Union. Teachers were at the centre of the first wave of strikes against the Tory government. But with Labour offering little better in terms of pay and conditions, and no real solutions to the manifold crises in our schools, they are once again poised to take up the struggle.
A big focus of the discussion was the biggest public sector union in Britain, UNISON, which has been the epicentre of a pitched battle over the direction of the union. It is, in essence, a contest between socialists and the left on one side, and allies of Labour Party right-wingers on the other.
This year will see both UNISON NEC elections and the election of the General Secretary. Significantly and very positively, this is the first time that the left vote for General Secretary is not split between two candidates.
The left, organised under the banner of Time For Real Change (TFRC) in which Socialist Alternative members play an important role, has a real chance of winning both of these elections. If successful, TFRC could begin to transform UNISON into a fighting organisation that unapologetically advances the interests of its members and the wider working class.
While much of the discussion centred on public sector unions we also heard about the important gains made by the (mostly) private sector union Unite, which reports having won more than £530 million for its members in the recent period, largely as a result of strikes.
While this figure may be impressive, Unite is not without its problems either. There was broad condemnation in the meeting of the role of Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham for her pro-militarism position on Starmer’s proposed increase of ’defence’ spending to 2.5% of GDP, which she welcomed because it would ostensibly “benefit members” in the arms industry.
In the context of the genocidal attacks in Gaza – something Graham herself has been largely silent on – and increasing militarism across the west, this approach is completely incorrect. For the unions to be prepared to resist the coming attacks on the whole working class, it has to reject absolutely the false logic of ’jobs versus politics’.
Instead, we campaign for an end to all imperialist wars and investment in socially useful enterprises – a position our members have played an important role in winning many unions to.
The meeting heard from an impressive range of union activists, including some inspiring young members who have been playing leading roles in transforming our unions into fighting organisations and winning young people to the ideas of militant trade unionism.
The day closed with commissions covering subjects from, recruiting to the revolutionary party, building/strengthening union organisation in the workplace, and how to be an effective workplace rep. If you are interested in transforming your workplace, your union, and bringing about the socialist transformation of society, we encourage you to join Socialist Alternative!
