Pensions Strike, November 30th

The pensions strike was an unprecedented coming together of public sector unions that delivered a timely reminder as to how effective collective solidarity and collective action can be. Not surprisingly, the media and the government have downplayed its effectiveness but what would Cabinet members know of the impact of the strike? I bet most of them don’t send their kids to state schools, use the NHS or rely on the other public services that ground to a halt on 30 November. Maybe that is unfair, one or two of them have probably had a chauffeur who was a member of the PCS union...

I think it would be a mistake to see the day’s action as the peak of our campaign. It is inevitable that Cameron and Clegg will try to be the new Thatcher, thinking they will get votes and save their political careers by taking on the unions. They are too distant from reality to know that times have changed and that, generally speaking, the public are supporting the unions in this dispute. We have to be ready to take further action in the New Year, probably smart action like that which occurred in the Southampton dispute. The Southampton UNISON Branch website is worth a look! We need to make sure any action is even more effective by recruiting non-union members to join UNISON and convincing union members who attended work to join us next time. When people cross a picket line it is sometimes hard to stay reasonable but I think that is what we must do if we want to get them on board.

We also need to remember the power that comes to us from industrial action as other disputes loom. After two years of a pay freeze, local government workers face a maximum increase of 1% for the next two years, at a time when inflation has been over 4%. That means four years of pay cuts imposed on us by a Government who has let the bankers who caused the economic mess get away scot free and return to their lifestyle of excessive bonuses. Locally there are bound to be disputes as our various local employers feel compelled to squeeze our pay and conditions, cut our jobs and privatise services.

UNISON representatives will do all they can to safeguard our members wherever they work but there comes a time when we can only achieve so much by negotiation. To get a better deal, we may call on our members to take industrial action again. We need to have established a culture where union membership is high and where people are prepared to take action to make a real difference. This in itself empowers UNISON negotiators. All union members have a part to play in establishing that culture; recruiting non-members, making sure that their workplace has a steward and having regular workplace meetings are the foundations that we must start to build.

Jonathan Dunning is the Branch Secretary of the Norfolk County Branch of UNISON.

Conference Friday

The final day of LG Conference in Manchester began with motion 41, which concerned policeman being taken off the street to cover for redundant civilian workers despite the policeman being on a much higher wage. A police administrator earns £16,000 but a former police officer doing the same job gets £32,000. There have been articles written in Norfolk papers suggesting that our own local force will be pushing ahead with this policy and this will have an impact on the safety of our streets.

This led onto motion 53 which spoke of the loss of skills and experience due to the closure of the Connexions service and staff being made redundant. In Norfolk our Connexions Rep, Ruth Thacker, worked hard to organise the young people to campaign to save their service, but there was still a loss of staff. The mover of the motion made mention of a friend in Suffolk whose a leading light in Suffolk Against the Cuts, a likely reference to Ruth! The loss of Connexions staff will prohibit the social mobility of our children because those who currently give the advice are trained professionals in that specific area, while teachers are usually only qualified in the area that they teach.

A lengthy debate ensued about supporting members in the private and community sectors. Our members in the private sector pay the same rates as everyone, but frequently don't have access to the same resources. It is harder to support those in the voluntary sector despite our best efforts, though in Norfolk the presence of Julie Heywood in that sector (who provides fantastic support for her members) makes a real difference. Her role is made harder as it is more difficult to get recognition agreements in the private and voluntary sector.

We must make sure we represent members before and after transfers and outsourcing, providing a tailored approach to suit the circumstances. We need joint local bargaining committees to be strong and fight the reductions of terms and conditions. The community and voluntary sector is the third biggest service group in UNISON and the organisation needs to reflect this.

Motion 65 was called 'Campaigning with the community and voluntary sector to fight the cuts'. This motion demanded an audit of members so we can learn where our members are, build better links with them and help support their local communities. We noticed that there were lots of empty seats through this motion and thought it might be because delegates didn't think it applied to them, but by this time next year they could be working in these areas after being transferred over.

NEC Spokesman Clytus lightened the mood in the break by singing! Amongst certain other numbers was the classic 'There may be trouble ahead...'

Motion 101 concerned equality in marriage and civil partnerships. The only reason that same-sex marriages aren't allowed is because it's believed by some to be a threat to the institution of marriage and to the fabric of society. Philip O'Shea spoke about his desire to get married like Kate did to William, he too wants to marry his prince. He wants to get married in church and he wants to be able to leave his pension to his partner. A civil partnership lacks the love and romance associated with marriage. While the Labour Party made huge inroads into equality with transgender and civil partnerships, we know that we still have a way to go.


Motion 76 sought to actively oppose cuts in the welfare state and highlight the devastating impact theses cuts can have on the most vulnerable in our society. Disability Living Allowance is not a benefit in the truest sense but an allowance that takes into consideration the increased living costs that those with a disability face in order to live an ordinary life.

We finished with an agreement to protect our right to take industrial action, as this government plans to weaken our rights. One amendment asked us to continue to work with the United Campaign to Repeal the Anti-Trade union Laws and the Institute of Employment Rights to promote trade union rights.

Conference Thursday

Composite D was called 'Our NHS, our Future.' In King's Lynn the Queen Elizabeth Hospital has gone to a foundation trust status and the impact of changes is already being felt with sections being hived off and private providers being bought into run them. Terms and conditions are already being ratcheted down and it will only get worse if we don't take steps to stop it now.

Motions 1 and 2 referred to organising and we felt that we need to start being better at organising rather than servicing. It is through organising that we'll strengthen our membership. We found ourselves questioning whether we use the skills of our Retired Members sufficiently. There are 160,000 retired members in UNISON so we must use them. They are willing hands that are prepared to help.


Much was made of the Three Companies Project and the organizing focus it had.

We have looked into the use of social media to recruit and organise. Online campaigning is the way forward but we mustn't do it isolation but rather as a complement to the face-to-face element. As well as a website, our branch has a Facebook page administered by delegate Melissa Brown.

As Senior Steward for libraries, Melissa has worked hard to establish a dedicated Library Facebook page as well as the main one and has also been blogging regular updates from conference. Members in their 50s are less likely to use the internet, so is this an area our branch could specifically target? One branch has themed meet-and-greet days, going out in pairs and speaking to people, both members and non members. The themes focus on a particular area of campaigning, such as pensions.

The Tower Hamlets branch shared a chant they shouted on their recent rally - 1,2,3,4 tax the rich and not the poor, 5,6,7,8 help us save the welfare state.

There was a video by Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese democracy leader and honorary UNISON member.

Jo Spears from the Southampton branch spoke at a fringe meeting looking at organising and inspired many with her story of how her branch's organising approach saw a huge increase in membership and an improvement to their terms and conditions. Jo had previously calculated that she would have to work for 244 years to earn the amount her chief executive earns in a year. Our delegation considered trying an area-based support system rather than service-based. An idea was suggested: reps could carry business cards with the rep's name and details as well as the addresses of the Facebook page and the UNISON local and national websites.


There was much discussion of proposed changes to Branch finance rules, with the suggestion that funds surplus to the day-to-day needs of branches invested in the national branch investment scheme as approved by the National Executive Council. Assurances over ethical investing were raised and the national auditors were demanding we put in safety mechanisms. Tax considerations were also discussed at length.

Amendments were proposed to Rule I: Disciplinary Action. This rule seeks to expel those in the BNP and "whose objectives are contrary to the objectives of UNISON". However, with the wording proposed, this potentially would not just apply to membership of racist parties, but other membership of other organisations such as Greenpeace and the Socialist Workers Party. There was a passionate speech against the motion due to the ambiguous nature of the wording. The NEC member who had proposed the amendments used his right to reply and gave a guarantee that the changed rule wouldn't be used against left wing parties. He claimed that by not adopting the language used, the union would leave itself open to legal challenge. However, the amendment was soundly rejected when put to the vote.

Conference Tuesday

Angela Lynes, UNISON president, welcomed everyone to conference and introduced international guest speakers. She gave a moving address, providing the background to her trade unions activities and a narrative about how she came to take on the presidency of Unison. Angela spoke of a White Line picket, where people line up, without stopping traffic, on the white markings in the middle of the road.


Mike Hayes explained about the challenges that the union was facing due to increased activity and campaigns that we have run. Our biggest challenge is maintaining momentum against the negative actions of the ConDem government. Our new headquarters was opened in April 2011 and we retain ownership of the former HQ at Mabledon Place. We will work with a developer and receive a lump sum of millions of pounds while maintaining the lease of the building for the future.

The real business got underway with Motion 33 - The Big Society, Nothing About Us, Without Us, Is For Us. The Big Society is a cynical programme designed to remove state accountability and sell off our services. Southern Cross was used as a typical example of how this government sees the future of our service delivery responsibilities. It was suggested that David Cameron should also offer us control of banks and big businesses if he wants us to have control as he claims. Margaret Thatcher said there was no such thing as society, only individuals, but now Cameron claims he wants a Big Society when a society made up on UNISON members was delivering on the premise all along. The cradle-to-grave welfare state is the great creation of the Labour Party and we are proud to state that we want a society run for human need, not corporate greed.

Motion 28 referred to the abolition of the Two Tier Code. This refers to the government attempts to remove TUPE tranfer protection from law. The attempted removal of this protection will increase the pace of the race to the bottom. There will be almost no protection for staff transferred and the private sector takes all the profit while the public sector shoulders the risk. It's really hard for us as activists to support staff in workplaces who are on different terms and conditions. The new concept of an 'Easy Council' was discussed - this being a council where all services were put out to tender and seen as easy pickings for private firms eager to cherry-pick profit-making roles.



Motion 70 dealt with campaigning Against the Tory-led Government. There is no strategy for growth in this Con/Dem plan to cut the deficit, merely the dismantling of our welfare state. We need to highlight the lies in government arguments about a 'bloated' public sector and show the real reason for the deficit. There is a movement of national industrial action growing and we want our union to be at the forefront of it. This neoliberal government believes in a small state where philanthropy and business deliver services. Cameron has no plans to reinstate services when the fortunes of our country change, proving that this is an ideological plan rather than an economic plan. The Labour rehetoric emerging from Milliband and Balls that the cuts run "too deep and too fast" is simply not good enough.

Motion 85 called for improvements to the current State Pension. The level recognized as being needed to move out of poverty is £178.00 per week and the state pension is currently £102.15, a £75+ difference. Pensioners are willing to take action over this, they want dignity, equality and no means testing. Pension credit is not claimed by many of those who are eligible and as trade unionists, we need to fight for an old age pension that promotes the things that pensioners want.

Motion 44 called for the support of Sure Start centres. There are about 55 Sure Start Children's Centres in Norfolk and these have now been structured into "lots". Those not currently under the control of a school (10 of them) are going to be put out to tender to external, probably private, providers and this is viewed as an undesirable outcome.


General Secretary Dave Prentis addressed conference after a video of the mass public protest in London on March 26 2011. Eric Pickles and Ed Balls were among the political figures discussed in Dave's address and he urged Cameron and Nick Clegg to go back to the bankers and tell them to clear up their own mess. He also stated that in future we will only support those MPs who support our values, our aims and our goals.

Dave also mentioned the tissue of lies spread by Treasury Spokesman Danny Alexander which failed to engage our membership. He rebutted the government claim that our pensions are unaffordable, stating that we have the fight of our lives ahead to protect our rights but that it is nonetheless one that we can win.

Comp E, named 'Cuts are not the Cure', looked at the government's attempts to remove the structural deficit within four years and doing so by cutting services rather than intelligently applying tax increases. This is a strategy that will hit our communities hard. It is the poor rather than the rich that will face the worst blows and those who played no part in creating the problem are being expected to pay for it. In Norfolk we saw this most clearly with the cuts to all Youth Services, including the Connexions. These young people had nothing to do with the banking crisis yet their future is being thrown on to the scrapheap without a second thought. We need a fair system that offers young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the same opportunities as those with privileged upbringing.

Motion 34 considered how women are hit more by the cuts than men. They are likely to receive lower income, are more likely to be reliant on benefits and are more dependent on the services being cut. Significantly, they are also more likely to be employed in the public sector and be UNISON members. At Norfolk County Council, women members with childcare needs have said that they were told that it's not fair that they should be able to have flexible working, a statement which fails to appreciate their legal right to request it.

Conference Sunday 2011

In the first of a number of daily blog updates, Jo Rust updates us daily from National Conference 2011, currently being held in Manchester. These updates have been edited by Kris Holt.


UNISON's National Conference began in earnest on Sunday with the annual report. A tsunami of cuts are hitting all areas of public life, with the country's most vulnerable being victimised by these savage cuts. Cameron's oft repeated mantra that these cuts are inevitable because the last government maxed out the credit card is a lie - if there is money to pay for wars, there's money to pay for public services.

Dave Prentis is leading negotiations on pensions and we are still in negotiation but if we don't get what we want, we have to be prepared to strike. It is important to win that ballot and win with a majority. We will do it together with our sister unions all over the country and with our private sector colleagues whose pensions have been hit too. The government claim is that the cuts are necessary because we're living longer and things as they stand are not sustainable. However, there is a strong feeling that these attacks are about making it cheaper so we can be taken over by private companies. The message to Cameron, we're the ones who are in this together.

A composite is a type of special conference motion created by merging multiple proposed motions with the same goal. As you might expect, there were a number of motions defending the pension scheme (LGPS) and Composite E defended this. It is time to tackle the notion that our pension scheme is gold-plated - women workers only get an average of £55 a week. The LGPS is healthy, with more money going in than being paid out. It was stated that we need a strong voice from the Labour leader, Ed Milliband.

30th June 2011 is beginning to look more and more like the first general strike as more and more areas are coming out in support. The RMT union are striking on the day over the reinstatement of a member and the prison officers are having a two hour walk out on the day. While our members were speaking in support of Composite E, our General Secretary Dave Prentis was live on Sky News refuting the claims of Treasury Spokesman Danny Alexander.

By making the LGPS more expensive and less profitable fewer people will join it and it'll become weaker for our future beneficiaries. The mantra "pay more, work longer and get less" was repeated by nearly every speaker. Employers have been allowed pension holidays while our members have never been able to take one. Once members are transferred over to the new scheme, they could lose their pension protection. It's down to us to make people understand and become aware because the right wing press are never going to put across our side of the story.


Motion 36 concerned black workers and the LGPS. Pension cuts hit us all but hits black people even worse as they're three times more likely to live in poverty in old age. Black workers are more likely to suffer redundancies. Black women are often the main breadwinners in their households and frequently have two jobs. Conference identified the link between low pay and low pensions and it was claimed that the wealth of the rich has doubled since the 1970s.

Motion 6 dealt with the effect of the cuts on rural communities. These communitites are reliant on private transport but having to cut it back because of rising fuel prices and lower wages. Ironically, those factors mean that public transport becomes increasingly vital. Services have to be delivered differently in rural areas because people can't just walk into the town and get a service in the way that those living in urban areas can. However, the nature of rural communities means that they are often not seen as a priority.

Motion 9 speaking up for Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) equality in a time of cuts in Local Government. LGBT workers have been among then last to gain the protection of the law and they have been disproportionately hit by the cuts. In addition to this, they face being bullied at work but fear to complain while their jobs are under threat.

Motion 16 referred to youth services in crisis. Cuts to youth services are a false economy, reducing access to work and the chance to empower younger people to achieve in future. Youth work enlightens young people, raises self-esteem and aspirations. Attacking the young people of today was described as 'an attack on the future'.

Composite B investigated ways to use equality to fight the cuts agenda. The motion believes that Equality Impact Assessments (EqIA) are the best way for councils to demonstrate that they have placed due regard to their equality duties. The flawed notion of 'Big Society' cannot replace properly funded public services. Some branches play a very active part in the formation of their EqIA and then meet up to discuss lessons learned. A high court judge recently ruled that the changes to equality legislation made no difference to the need for councils to do EqIA fully and properly with consultation, and this made Birmingham City Council change their plans to cut children's services.


Finally, Composite A campaigned against Local Government cuts and for a fairer deal for all. Local authorities are shedding jobs, services and people at an unprecedented level. We cannot support councils who set illegal or irresponsible budgets, instead working with them to set parallel budgets and ensure that they are accountable. Nearly four million children in modern day Britain are living in poverty and some of those live in homes where there is a working adult.

We know that this government is influenced by public opinion and so we have to make sure the public fully understand why we are taking this stance. We need coordinated action between all service sectors and other unions. The Southampton strike is now entering a sixth week of action and we need to support it. Local support remains high despite media lies. Meanwhile, Crawley Council have lent Southampton Council £5 million to help them combat the impact of the strike action but a UNISON speaker from Southampton made it clear that they will never give up the fight. Within UNISON, an injury to one is an injury to all. We must stand together, unite and fight, make the public understand, then we can win this fight.

Action on Pensions

The best public sector pension scheme in the whole country is the one enjoyed by our MP’s, yet they have the audacity to claim that other public sector pension schemes are too generous and need to change. The proposals that we are facing will mean we pay more, get less and have to work longer before we receive our pensions. At a time when we are facing mass redundancies, pay freezes and attempts to worsen our conditions of service, it must be time for ordinary union members to say 'enough is enough'.

That is most certainly the case for a number of teaching unions and the civil service union who are to take industrial action on 30 June 2011 to protect their own pension schemes. We need to show our support for them by attending the lunchtime rallies that are taking place across the county. At the time of writing there are 12.00 demos in both Norwich and King’s Lynn outside the Forum and Top Shop respectively. Speak to your steward for news of the latest events. Please do all you can to attend.

In UNISON we look as if the strikes will be in autumn. It is unfortunate that the strikes cannot be all on the same day but it is possible that the unions striking on 30 June 2011 may need further days of action that will be the same day as our own.

Striking for unions is always a last resort and not something we take lightly. However there comes a time when we have to take a stand. The previous Government tried to attack our pensions and industrial action by UNISON members put a stop to that. We have proved industrial action can make a difference so we should feel empowered by that.

For the latest news on the pension campaign check the UNISON national website.

If you work with colleagues who are not members of a trade union please encourage them to join. We are fighting for their pensions and if they join a union they will be able to strengthen our action and improve our chances of success.

- Jonathan Dunning is the Branch Secretary of the Norfolk County Branch of UNISON.

Co-ordinated Action on June 30th

Our UNISON branch already has agreed on the principle of a 24 hour general strike against the cuts. The following Unions are all preparing for coordinated industrial action on June 30th around anti-cuts issues: UCU (University and College Lecturers), FBU (Fire Brigades Union), PCS (Public and commercial Services), NUT (National Union of Teachers).

This report shows the head of steam building up with other unions like the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) ready to join. The NUJ (National Union of Journalists) conference recently called for a general strike.

Click here for an article on this subject.

Unfortunately, I have to say that the leadership of UNISON, despite a lot of anti-cuts speeches, do not seem to be preparing to translate words into action.

I have suggested that our branch should send a message to the UNISON leadership saying we stand for strike action on 30th June against the cuts.

This is an opportunity for us to show what we feel. It is time to strike over all the issues we are angry about. Each year our pay award is below inflation. We have also been robbed of redundancy enhancement. We face compulsory redundancies and there are changes to our pensions that force younger colleagues to work longer. Many members are angry but have expressed reservations about taking industrial action alone.

This is our opportunity to show what the trade union movement can do together.

Ed Bober is a steward in the Norfolk County Branch of UNISON.

March for the Alternative

The TUC demonstration on March 26th 2011 was a brilliant show of strength. The Norfolk County UNISON branch were well represented and all those who came on the march have good impressions to share. Media estimates grossly understated the size of the demo and also focused on completely peripheral issues. I think this shows how much the establishment fear the potential power of the trade union movement.

This society has the potential wealth to support a growing public sector. Tax evasion and avoidance cost the UK £120 billion a year. Trident would cost £1.8 billion. Government investment in a million green jobs would save on unemployment benefit and bring in extra tax revenues.

In my view the TUC should now call a 24-hour general strike to defend jobs and services. However, the leaders will not do this without pressure from below. Together with service users we need to take direct action to defend jobs and services.

- Ed Bober, Norfolk County UNISON Branch steward

LSE Students Occupy Buildings Against the University’s Ties To the Libyan Regime

Students at the London School of Economics have succeeded in changing policy at their educational establishment through a militant approach. Following the announcement below, they began an occupation of LSE buildings designed to force their establishment to change its position with regard to Libya.

"At 7pm on February 22nd, we began an occupation of the Senior Common Room in the Old Building (Houghton St.) against the LSE regarding their association with the Libyan regime. In light of recent events the LSE administration announced that they would no longer be accepting the money ...from the Gaddafi family. The school has already accepted £300,000 and was scheduled to receive and additional £1.2 million. We as students of the LSE are demanding:

a) A public statement by the LSE administration denouncing the recent gross violations of human rights by the Gaddafi regime and Saif Gaddafi’s violent threats against the protesters in Libya

b) A formal commitment by the LSE refraining from cooperating with the Libyan regime and any other dictatorial regimes that are known to be implicated in gross violations of human rights.

c) Rejecting the rest of the yearly installments that are being received from the £1.5 Million donation of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) and work towards creating a scholarship fund for underprivileged Libyan students using the £300k that LSE has already accepted and not spent yet.

d) Revoking Saif Gaddafi's LSE alumni status, as his public statement on Sunday 20th of February and the various reports issued by International Human Rights Organisations clearly demonstrate that he is implicated in the killing of innocent civilians as well as other human rights violations. His association with the LSE community and particularly its student body is a disgrace that is not tolerated by the LSE staff, students and alumni.

e) Publicly committing that no grants from officials of such oppressive regimes will be accepted in the future by establishing a set of standards and a process of democratic decision-making with student representation that determines whether or not the School should accept money coming from controversial donors.

Failing to do these would not only betray the LSE's ethical values, it would also tarnish the School's reputation in a region whose people are currently fighting to reclaim their freedom from corrupt dictatorships--and are winning the fight so far.

Following the publication of these demands we will occupy a space on LSE campus."

Following the occupation, the LSE Director made the following update on the School's official website:

'The Director will recommend to the LSE Council on 1 March that the School set aside £300,000 – equivalent to the entire sum received from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation - for purposes agreed with the wider School community. In particular, the School is looking into establishing a scholarship fund for Libyan students.'

UNISON Norfolk County Branch is preparing an official statement of support to the student effort which will be sent in the next few days.

MRS and Redundancy Pay

Some colleagues are coming under pressure to process appeal information in their own time. It is company policy that all work relating to MRS is conducted in work time. Claim it as flex or time off in lieu. UNISON will support you in this. Contact us if you are having problems in this regard.

Our branch has sent out ballot papers about action to oppose the cut in our redundancy pay. I strongly recommend that you vote yes to industrial action, including strike action, because the alternative is that the employer walks all over us. They have told the union that this is not negotiable. There is clearly a massive wave of cuts coming. Connexions is only the start. The fight over redundancy pay is part of the fight to defend jobs and services. The pay we lose going on strike will be small compared to the loss of our jobs. Big cuts are central to the policies of this government, they go far beyond the '1% efficiency savings' which they spoke of in their election campaign.

Now is the time to ask colleagues to join UNISON. Many new members have joined up in the last few weeks because of the threat we are under. You may wish to consider becoming a steward for your own section. If you would like a workplace meeting to discuss the proposed changes to redundancy pay more fully, please contact the UNISON office or the senior steward in your area.

Don't forget UNISON and the PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) have called a public meeting to oppose cuts. This meeting will be held at Norwich City Hall, Wednesday September 8th at 7pm.

I always value your feedback.

- Ed Bober, UNISON Steward

Young Members Meeting and the Norwich Beer Festival

The next meeting of the Regional Young Members Group will take place in Norwich, followed by a social at the Norwich Beer Festival. The meeting will start at 2pm on Saturday 30 October with the venue yet to be confirmed. A ticket to the Festival and accommodation at Premier Inn Nelson (near train station) is provided for those who attend the meeting.

This will be a good event with lots of opportunity for socialising and finding out more about UNISON, what membership means for young people and how to get more involved. Please contact the branch office for further information on how to get involved.

- Kristen Jones, Young Members Officer.

Where’s Willie? Trying his hand at Union busting!

Our comrades, the striking cabin crews of BA, have turned Heathrow’s terminal 5 into a “ghost town.” BA, an airline that has marketed itself as a premium brand carrier, is cutting cabin crew staff. By doing so they are undermining the very service on which the BA reputation has been built. By defending both their right to maintain a decent standard of living and a larger vision of the airline’s interests, our Unite comrades have been forced into industrial action. Willie Walsh, BA’s Chief Executive, has comprehensively shown that he wants the strike. He made this desire transparent by tabling a deal that was actually worse than an earlier offer that the union had already rejected.

The BA workers stand accused in the right wing media kangaroo court of indifference to the welfare of a potential 2.5 million members of the travelling public. Their earlier strike action in December was nullified by a bizarre judicial ruling. Quite accidentally a small number of votes had been counted that were from recent former BA employees who had already been made redundant and were not eligible to vote. This statistically insignificant miss-poll meant that this industrial action was always going to come just weeks before the general election. Some government ministers are running scared before the media-created image that Unite is run by militant totalitarians whose goals are malevolent and misguided, and have joined the union bashing chorus as a result. They should, instead, be defending the democratic rights of unions to strike.

Is the pre-election timing of this mere coincidence? Or, as seems more likely, to whip up a taste for orchestrated union-bashing in anticipation of a change in governmental colour?

John McDonnell, MP and Labour Resource Council Chair, has said regarding the BA strike, “This dispute is a prime example of the current industrial relations climate, with the employer not only seeking to win but to break the union too.”

On the Unite website BA sources are quoted as stating that "Some media reports on our flight operations during the period of Unite’s strike have appeared to give equal weight to information we have issued as to claims made by Unite." This was followed by a statement that claims BA’s requirement to perform at PLC-expected standards means that their statements had to be truthful because of this legal status. The logical sequel to this argument was – according to BA – that the press should ignore information from Unite! Apparently the honesty of some leaders of private business has apparently never been called into question! Pardon us, Mr. Walsh, if the antics of people like Fred Goodwin, Bernie Madoff, and the management team of Enron have turned us into sceptics regarding the reliability of corporate integrity.

So UNISON, the public service union, stands as one with her sister Unite: in voices a million members strong we stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity. Our brothers and sisters have the right, indeed the responsibility to defend a decent living standard for themselves and future generations of BA cabin crews. The principles of “negotiation, not imposition” and the right to demand a living wage receives our full support!

- Karen Michael, UNISON steward