01.07.1999

Unison witch hunt

The leadership of Unison has launched a concerted attack on the SWP in the aftermath of the Campaign for a Living Wage demo in Newcastle on April 10. Two SWP-dominated branches, Birmingham City Council and Sheffield, have been suspended.  Dozens of individual members face disciplinary action, including Candy Udwin and Dave Carr, prominent SWP members and secretary and chair of University College Hospital London branch.

Socialist Worker recently printed a letter from Unison general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe complaining about “the behaviour of your members and supporters” (June 19). He feigned concern that the SWP had actually dared to turn up on April 10: “Political parties and their newspapers did not receive an invitation.” According to Bickerstaffe, the Newcastle demonstration was “intended for ordinary trade union members and the wider community”. Patronisingly he imagines (or hopes) that “ordinary trade union members”, etc do not join or support political parties - except New Labour, that is.

He goes on to assert that the SWP attempted to hijack the demonstration. People were “intimidated and bullied to the extent that they did not feel they could support such an event in future should your paper and party be involved”. In fact members of Unison - all active trade unionists for that matter - expect the SWP (and members of other left groups) to turn up on pickets, demonstrations and such events. A few grump … but nothing more. Given that it is unlikely that Bickerstaffe has actually received a flood of complaints from rank and file members, it is quite clear that the SWP - along with the left as a whole - is the target for a renewed bout of witch-hunting.

So Bickerstaffe announces: “Your paper and party are not welcome on Unison demonstrations, as you have proved time and time again that you are only concerned with your own message as opposed to that which Unison is trying to achieve.”

Chris Harman replies that Bickerstaffe is selective in his ban on political papers. He raises no objection for instance to the presence on the demo of the Morning Star, to which the Unison leadership has made donations.

While Socialist Worker says that the leadership’s “attacks on democracy within the union and their witch hunt against the left suffered some significant reverses” at the annual conference two weeks ago, closer inspection shows otherwise (June 26). The SWP were unable to get the branch suspensions discussed on conference floor and, although the leadership “were forced to promise a deal to lift the suspension of Birmingham branch”, SWP members in that branch are still facing disciplinary action. All suspensions remain in place. In spite of criticism from some delegates, the Unison leadership de facto succeeded in getting the majority to side against the SWP.

In an unusually sober assessment Socialist Worker puts the mood of the delegates down to the fact that “the low level of strikes and struggle outside the hall meant that much of the conference felt very subdued”. Reporter Paul McGarr even said that “the low level of struggle, the union leaders’ verbal shift left to match their members’ dismay with New Labour, and a lack of rank and file confidence” meant that the feeling of anger at the conference failed to be translated “into action”. Clearly the experience of leading SWP cadre is forcing an about-turn on the “it’s never been a better time to be a socialist” line. Proving the opposite, Candy Udwin actually broke down at the rostrum during the debate in the final session of the conference. The strains of pretending that we are living through a period of working class upsurge are clearly beginning to show.

Nevertheless, the SWP did manage to get some national executive members along to a fringe meeting organised to oppose the witch hunt. Jean Geldart, Doug Thorpe, Roger Bannister and Jean Thorpe spoke to an audience of 430 in a well attended and successful meeting. Geoff Martin, convenor of London region, argued that while he has “massive political differences with the Socialist Workers Party ... if you have differences you discuss it, you have it out in a meeting, you come to a position and you go forward”.

Quite right.

Anne Murphy