12.09.2001

Left set to unite

October 13 conference to launch Unison United Left

Mirroring moves for unity, as witnessed in our growing Socialist Alliance movement, the left in Britain?s largest union, Unison, is coming together. A founding conference is due to take place in Manchester on October 13 of a new body, in all probability to be called United Left, which will hopefully see the merging of the Campaign for a Fighting and Democratic Unison (CFDU), the Socialist Workers Party and the remnants of the largely defunct Unison Labour Left.

Unison, due to its vast membership and concentration at the heart of the public sector, has faced decades of deregulation of services, redundancies and increasingly open attack on the very notion of public service. It is fair to say that the union?s left wing has not been up to the mark in terms of leading a united fightback or politicising the fight to protect jobs and services. Nor has it been effective in either resisting the witch-hunt of union militants by the bureaucracy or opposing the leadership more generally.

This was best witnessed in the vote for general secretary in 1995, when Roger Bannister of the CFDU - also a member of the Socialist Party, which dominated the CFDU - was clearly the best positioned left candidate. However, he was challenged by Yunus Bakhsh of the SWP, which at the time spurned broad left work in the trades unions and distanced itself from the united left campaign. Bannister received over three times the vote of the embarrassed SWP candidate, but still polled relatively badly, falling behind a reactionary catholic candidate and the then re-elected general secretary Rodney Bickerstaffe. Worse, Bickerstaffe was backed by comrades from Labour Left Briefing and a few revolutionary groups - most notably the Alliance for Workers? Liberty (majority). These groups went on to form the basis of the ill-fated Unison Labour Left.

The election in February 2000 of rightwinger Dave Prentis was marked by a less disjointed left intervention. This time comrade Bannister, again the CFDU candidate, polled well over 30% of the vote and but for the unfortunate campaign of another left candidate, Malkiat Bilku of the Hillingdon Hospital strikers, might have given Prentis a much closer run (the combined left vote was 44%, as opposed to 53% for the winner). Comrade Bilku was egged on by the rump Workers Revolutionary Party, which, despite a membership numbering only some few dozen, manages to produce a daily newspaper, Newsline. The role of the SWP this time was far more positive, endorsing Bannister, although failing to enter the CFDU and failing to involve its not insignificant Unison membership in that fight.

So what of the United Left? Despite reservations and visible unease emanating from certain members of the Socialist Party, the road to unity looks well underway - the SP has a smaller aggregate membership within the union than the SWP, but arguably plays a more prominent role. A recent steering group meeting for the forthcoming conference seems to have smoothed over any existing differences and it remains to be seen what mistrust of the SWP remains among Unison activists, resulting from its previous sectarian role.

Certainly points of disagreement in approach remain. The SWP sees united work in the unions not as an ABC of basic revolutionary - indeed basic working class - practice, but as part of its new ?united front? modus operandi, ? la Socialist Alliances, Globalise Resistance and Anti-Nazi League. There is a tendency on the part of the SWP to gloss over important differences and treat events such as the forthcoming conference as a mere rally, where the latest group of striking workers can be cheered on, rather than opportunities to discuss strategy and develop a rank and file leadership. Most importantly, joint work in the union is not viewed as part of the overall political fight, centred on an effective, democratic SA.

Clearly there will be weaknesses in the CFDU wing of the new organisation also. The CFDU has played a certain role and has made a bigger and more coordinated impact than the SWP. However, its remit for the United Left would appear to be that of mirroring the union?s official structures, including in the regions. The SP wants to retain its CFDU franchise - no doubt it would argue that to do otherwise would be to ?waste? all those years of hard work. In this respect it fails to challenge the practice of the SWP or provide an alternative pole for those seeking to deepen organisational unity. Surely we should aim higher than a loose, coordinating body. The United Left must be built and developed in as many units of the union as possible, putting our message across to rank and file members on a whole range of issues and delivering solidarity much more effectively, in addition to the important work of getting people elected.

Likewise the issue of the Labour Party is not one that can be fudged. The passing of motion 131 at Unison?s annual conference, proposed by CFDU convenor and SP member Glenn Kelly, made the front pages of the national papers with its call for a review of the link with Labour. The Labour left is a largely fossilised force in British politics these days. For example, a recent conference of the London Labour left, called to discuss Ken Livingstone?s election as London mayor and expulsion from the Labour Party, attracted only 50 people - mostly existing members of or escapees from various Trotskyist groups. Anyone with any experience of the London Labour Party of even a decade ago will understand the wretched nature of such a turnout.

However, within Unison, as indeed many unions, on the fringes of the bureaucracy Labour lefts still wield a certain influence. Such people will agree with you over the role of New Labour over the private finance initiative, but will buckle at moves to support the SA, or even to democratise the funds. But the Blairites? role in attacking local authority services and introducing PFI, not least within the health service, cannot be glossed over. The situation is crying out for a debate on our strategy towards Labour.

United Left needs a fully democratic, working conference, not a stage-managed rally. There is a time and place for big public demonstrations of support for workers in struggle.

In all likelihood those advocating opening the way for union support for independent working class candidates, such as those of the Socialist Alliance, are likely to win the day. However, those against such a position must be accorded every opportunity to try to win us to their own position - although it would take a brave member of the union to call for a continuation of the blank cheque to Labour, a policy which results in what many ordinary members have come to regard as ?money for nothing?.

Instead we should demand that Labour candidates justify Unison support by at the very least agreeing to actively fight for an agreed set of union demands.

Lawrie Coombs
Middlesbrough Unison