By Socialist Alternative members in UNISON
UNISON has just announced the outcome of their General Secretary election. The election of left activist Andrea Egan as General Secretary is seismic in its implications, not just for UNISON but also the wider union and labour movement. After decades of subservient right-wing leaderships in the union, we now have a chance to build a fighting union with a General Secretary on a workers’ wage.
The incumbent Christina McAnea was a key point of support in the unions for Keir Starmer. This election was a vote on whether to suck up to Starmer or stand against him, and members overwhelmingly chose the latter.
Now this needs to be made a reality. One of the main points of Andrea’s manifesto was a review of the union’s Labour Link, which has been routinely used to shut down all criticism of the Labour government within the union. Now activists and union members will be keen to see this review move swiftly.
The significance of this vote cannot be overstated. It is incredibly difficult to beat an incumbent in a trade union election, who has all the tools of the bureacracy to support them. This result shows, therefore, a huge desire for change and a fighting union amongst the membership. Employers in the public sector and the Starmer government will now face a real challenge in facing a UNISON which is more prepared to defend members robustly.
The result must not only drive change in UNISON, but encourage activists in other unions and Your Party to be bold. Of course, the battles are not over in UNISON. There will be forces in the bureacracy and lay activist layer wedded to Starmer and cautious, conservative ‘trade unionism’ who will seek to block Andrea’s programme. This is why we call on public sector workers and UNISON members keen to fight for this to join Time for Real Change, as well as Socialist Alternative.
Whatever happens now, this result is a clear mandate to drive through change and win for members.
