Various reports of PCS Left Unity pensions conference

Left Unity is a group of socialists that inludes many leading figures in the Public and Commercial Services union.

Yesterday (Saturday 7 January) they hosted a conference in London for activists in all unions to discuss the dispute over public sector pensions that lead to a strike of two million workers in November.

It was unanimously agreed to oppose the pension proposals currently on the table, to urge the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to call another strike.

It was also agreed that, if the TUC doesn't organise another walkout, those unions that want to fight on should meet as soon as possible to discuss the next stage of the campaign.

Here are some reports of the event:

The Guardian: Public sector pensions dispute at 'pivotal moment', says Serwotka
Workers' Liberty: Meeting calls for NUT to "name day" for future pension strikes
Jon's union blog: Unity against miserablism
Red Pepper blog: Pensions: Keep united and step up the fight
Permanent Revolution: Left Unity conference refuses to name the day for strike action
Morning Star: Unions lay out 'line in the sand' on pensions
Socialist Party: Organising to step up the pensions struggle
National Shop Stewards' Network: Organising the fight back against pensions sell out
The Way I See Things blog: Fair pensions for all, no to any sell outs, reject and carry on the fight
Coventry Socialist Party: Successful meeting to organise the pensions dispute

Union News: Report from the conference in the weekly podcast

VIDEO: PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka's speech to the event

CLARIFICATION: I am currently working for PCS on a freelance basis.

Be inspired by Lorraine on the bus - one last push for March 26

Lorraine from south London tells her fellow bus passengers in Croydon about the Trade Union Congress march for an alternative economic policy taking place in London on Saturday 26 March.

With a week to go there's still time to persuade people to join the march.
Send them the link to Lorraine's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l490VFv2PBE
Print out some leaflets to hand out where you live
Find transport to the demo from where you live

The armed wing of the trades union congress

Here's the text of a leaflet I picked up in London yesterday.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN
Saturday March 26 2011
(195os style picture of two children at their father's knee)
'What did YOU do on that day. Daddy?'

LIBERATE LONDON
The TUC are calling a huge march for SATURDAY MARCH 26.
They're calling it "March for the Alternative".

But what is the alternative? Hundreds of thousands of us want to be HEARD not herded to Hyde Park for bureaucratic speechifying before everyone goes home. We're constructing an interactive map of direct action targets - media, education, local and national government buildings, bank branches, courts, police station, libraries - to be recycled and put to use as People's Assemblies on the day.

Http://meltdown.uk.net/
Contact us: battleofbritainmarch26@gmail.com

Printed and published by The Armed Wing of The Trades Union Congress

That's the end of the leaflet - these are my links:
Transport - trains and coaches - to the demo in London on March 26
TUC webpage on the demo
There is an alternative

Woodley announces he's going early

Unite join general secretary Tony Woodley has told colleagues on the TUC general council that he is retiring early at the end of January 2011.
The leader of the UK's biggest union was expected to stay in post for another year.
He paves the way for his friend the newly elected Len McCluskey to have a clear run as the first general secretary of the whole merged union.
The other joint general secretary Derek Simpson is also retiring.

It's time for the left to do a Len Murray

The leaders of Britain's trade unions will meet on Tuesday, with popular unrest at a level not seen for twenty years.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) general council has the chance to make history - or to complete a hat trick of missed tricks.
At September's congress unions backed a demonstration against youth unemployment before the end of 2010.
This psychic foresight would have put the trade union movement on the streets with the revolting generation.
The general council kicked the idea into the long grass - deciding to hold an indoor rally in Manchester on January 29 2011.
In October the general council met just before the government's spending review signalled hundreds of thousands of job cuts.
The council decided not to organise a demonstration until next March - despite calls for swifter action from some members.
Next week is another test of the union leaders' resolve and tactical acumen.
COMMENT:
In 1983 the NGA print union - now part of Unite - had its funds seized by the courts over a dispute in Warrington that contravened new anti-union laws.
The employment committee of the TUC general council voted to give the printers their full support.
The then TUC general secretary Len Murray left the meeting and told waiting journalists he would not be implementing the decision.
If - as seems certain - the general council sits on its hands next week the left union leaders need to show as much bottle as Murray.
They should stand on the steps of Congress House and pledge their full support for the students, the lecturers and the wider anti-cuts movement.
They shoud call a day of action - a lunchtime walkout, occupations of public buildings all over the country. Something that gives confidence to the workers who want to join the popular unrest and builds towards more generalised industrial action.
Will anyone be as brave as Len Murray?
If so what action should they call?
Are the general council right to be cautious?
Please use the comments box below.

Oxford, Bolton, Bradford, Brighton - everyone talk about strike action

Journalists at the US-owned Newsquest group are stepping up their industrial action over a three-year pay freeze and never ending job cuts.
Members of the National Union Journalists at the company's Brighton and Southampton centres are to take co-ordinated strike action next week.
Workers in Darlington voted 78 percent for strike action in a ballot this week.
Ballots are underway in Blackburn, Bolton, Bradford, and York.
And this week journalists in Andover and Oxford agreed to be balloted for industrial action.
Newsquest - part of the giant American Gannett corporation - is Britain's second biggest newspaper publisher.
Staff have had a three year pay freeze - even though top bosses have paid themselves wacking rises and boasted about profits.
Next week's south coast strikes are on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8 December.
The Brighton and Southampton chapels have already held stoppages.
A chapel officer from the Daily Echo in Southampton said:"The messages of support and encouragement we had last time really helped to motivate people - and helped warm our hearts if not our cold hands and feet!"
The Daily Echo strikers have a blog, a Twitter page, a Facebook group, and pictures on flickr.
COMMENT:
Well done to Newsquest journalists for launching a co-ordinated attack on a ruthless employer.
If this low paid private sector workers can do what's happened to the co-ordianted action promised by the movement's big battalions at the TUC.

Unions give money to the Daily Mail group

Unions in London have paid for an advert in the free Metro daily paper as part of their campaign against public sector cuts.
It appeared yesterday (December 1) and was headed by the logos of the south east and eastern Trade Union Congress (TUC), Unison Greater London, and Unite the union.
The ad said: "This week the coalition government will announce cuts of £1.5 billion to London council budgets.
"Londoners face major cuts in essential public services - services the young, elderly and vulnerable depend upon.
"Thousands of public sector workers will lose their jobs.
"These cuts are unnecessary - there is an economic alternative: collect unpaid taxes, invest in growth and tax the banks.
"Public services.
"Don't wait till they've gone to defend them."
The ad ended with web addresses for a Unison public services campaign, Unite, and the TUC.
COMMENT:
It’s very good to see trade unions taking their message to the wider community.
But:
Why give money to a paper in the Daily Mail group which is the most hostile to trade unions both as an employer and editorially?
Why not call on London’s Labour councils to refuse to implement the cuts?
The advert seems a bit wordy.
And I think it should urge people to do something specific to fight the cuts.
What do others think?

FBU and RMT walk away from calls for an early demonstration against the cuts

Two UK unions with militant reputations have abandoned plans to organise a national demonstration before Christmas to oppose government spending cuts.
As reported on The Workers United last week members of the eight-member Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG) were considering calling the protest against the wishes of the leaders of the wider labour movement.
But since then two key members of the group - the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union (RMT) - have told colleagues that they are no longer in favour of holding an early demonstration. They are believed to fear a poor turnout because of the short notice.
When the Trades Union Congress (TUC) general council met in October it decided not to organise a national protest until next March.
In response the executive of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), meeting on October 26 decided to press on with plans for a national demo - expecting support from other unions in the TUCG.
The PCS has nearly three times as many members as the RMT and FBU put together.
And it would almost certainly have support from the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) - as general secretary Jeremy Dear is on record supporting the early demo.
But the chances of a national demo before Christmas now seem very remote.

The TUC is the umbrella organisation for almost all unions in Britain.

The TUCG is made up of eight TUC affilaites who have agreed to work on joint campaigns.

COMMENT:
At public meetings all over the country people are asking "why can't we do a France" and organise massive civil disobediance against attacks on jobs and public services. The answer is a lack of confidence on behalf of union leaders and members. If the cuts are to be watered down - never mind defeated - the Labour movement must stop choking.

Essential reading for trades unionists fighting the cuts

Trades unionists are at the forefront of campaigns against the UK Conservative government's massive cuts.
Union leaders and activists are speaking at public meetings, reps are briefing members, and trades unionists are being urged to take the message to their friends, neighbours, and family.
Information is power - so here is The Workers United guide to the some of the best crib sheets on the web.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has produced a short pamphlet called
"There is an alternative: The case against cuts in public spending."
It deals with subjects like economic growth, privatisation, and unpaid tax.
Find a web version and a downloadable PDF here.
Red Pepper magazine has an article dealing with the myths around the defecit - like the depth of the crisis and the allegedly-bloated public sector.
Read it here.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has a calculator that allows individuals to work out how they will be affected by the cuts. Find it here.

Feel free to recommend other sites - or alternative strategies - in the comments box below.

Preparations underway for national protest against cuts before Christmas

Plans are being made to hold a national demonstration against the UK cuts before Christmas - even though the leaders of the trade union movement rejected the idea earlier this month.
The general council of the Trades Union Congress decided to organise a protest in March next year.
Some members of the council wanted a quicker response - as reported on The Workers United.
And the executive of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) met on October 26 and agreed to push ahead with plans for a national demo.
A briefing from PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka and president Janice Godrich posted on the union's website says they will be asking the TUC public sector liaison group meeting on Monday November 8 to organise a protest within six weeks.
I understand the call will be for a national demonstration outside London.
It follows protests across the country last weekend - which were particularly successful in Edinburgh and Belfast.
If the TUC public services group does not endorse the plan I understand the demonstration will be organised by the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group (TUCG).
The TUCG is an alliance of eight unions who work together, primarily on parliamentary lobbying through the office of left-wing Labour MP John McDonnell.
The members of the co-ordinating group are the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO), the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), PCS, the Prison Officers Association (POA), the Rail Martime and Transport union (RMT) and the United Road Transport Union (URTU).
The Trade Union Co-ordinating Group doesn't have a website - but here's a blog post about its launch.

"TUC general council has failed its first test"

A member of the body that leads Britain's trade union movement has criticised his colleagues for reacting too slowly to the massive public spending cuts that are hitting the country.
Jeremy Dear said the Trades Union Congress (TUC) general council had "failed its first test" of the anti-cuts campaign by not calling a national demonstration until next March.
Dear, who is general secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said people losing their jobs now needed solidarity from the wider trade union movement.
He was speaking outside Downing Street - the home of the UK Prime Minister - on Wednesday October 20.
See Jeremy Dear's two minute speech
COMMENT:
Jeremy is right - so who is going to step into the breach and organise a national demo?
The Coalition of Resistance, Right to Work, the National Shop Stewards Network, the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group?
Or a coalition of the coalitions?
If anyone picks up the baton - everyone should support them.

Red Pepper profiles community anti-cuts campaign

The November issue of Red Pepper magazine will spolight trades unionists in the north of England who are working together to defend public services from government cuts.
The Northern Public Services Alliance was set up in June following discussions between 14 unions.
Unison and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) have been prominent in building the organisation.
Last week a 300-strong demonstration was held in the north east against government cuts.
The idea of the Alliance is to bring together community groups and people who use services with public sector workers.
The Trade Union Congress's northern region covers the north east of England - where a third of jobs are in the public sector - and Cumbria.
DECLARATION:
I do some freelance work for the PCS and edited an article on their website about the Northern Public Services Alliance.

Subscribe to Red Pepper

Bayliss emails attack Woodley and BA strikers

An email sent to the private addresses of Unite members by general-secretary-candidate Les Bayliss's campaign has opened up the old enmity between the Amicus and TGWU sides of the merged union.
Bayliss's supporters accuse Unite's joint general secretary Tony Woodley of using his speech at the Trade Union Congress's Protect Public Services lobby on Tuesday to intervene in the election.
Ron Pursey, Unite convenor at the engineering company Cummins, said: "I attended the rally against the cuts in London, with the deputy convenor and two of my shop stewards.
"I would just like to say we were disgusted that our joint general secretary Tony Woodley used that occasion to have ago at Les Bayliss and use it has a campaign message for Len McCluskey."
Pursey went on: "Tony Woodley is the Unite joint general secretary not the T and G general secretary and I believe he should remember that."
Earlier this week a Bayliss email sent to Unite members’ private addresses attacked the high profile strike by BA cabin crew over job cuts.
Bayliss said of the dispute: "It has been disastrous. It has lowered our standing and reputation. We need to make sure it never happens again."
Many Unite activists, and other trades unionists, see the BA dispute - by largely women workers - as a crucial battle against a dictatorial style of management.
The other candidates for Unite general secretary are Jerry Hicks and Gail Cartmail. The ballot starts on Monday.
COMMENT:
Unite members at BA voted massively in favour of industrial action to defend working conditions in the airline industry.
In those circumstances the job of the union leadership is to throw their support behind the strikers.
BA workers should be helped to speak at every Unite branch in the country, explaining their dispute and raising cash for their strike fund.
Other airline and airport workers who have disputes with their bosses - and there is always something bubbling under - could be encouraged to co-ordinate action with the cabin crew.
I don't think the current Unite leadership has done enough to back the BA workers.
It seems a Bayliss-lead union would do even less.

Red Pepper reports: from the picket line at BA and from the deserted airport.
Unite brings together activists

Trades unionists take alternative economic message to the people

The North West TUC has produced 5,000 leaflets putting the alternative to cuts in public services which will be handed out in Manchester, Liverpool, and Chester on Saturday (October 23).
In Manchester, leafleters will be gathering in Albert Square from 10 am.
In Liverpool, leafleting will begin in Lord Street from 10 am.
And in Chester activists will be outside the Town Hall in Northgate Street from 10am.
The sessions are set to continue at least until noon and help is welcome at all three venues.
North West TUC regional secretary Alan Manning said, on their Proud To Serve The Public website: “There is an alternative to the coalition’s cuts which now put tens of thousands of jobs at risk in our region.
“We can bring back the windfall tax on bankers’ bonuses – after all they caused this mess. We can crackdown on tax avoidance and tax evasion, raise billions through a tiny tax on financial deals, stop spending a fortune on privatising services and introduce a property tax on vacant properties."
The TUC leafleting in Manchester coincides with a rally in a different square which was announced earlier this week by the regional arm of the National Shop Stewards' Network and reported on The Workers United.
A source close to the regional TUC - the official umbrella organisation for unions in the north west of England - said: "We're not aware of any split. There will be lots of activity happening in towns all over the region."

Synchronised ballots have created a chance for unions to work together

The opportunity for co-ordinated union action against the massive cutbacks in the UK economy grew yesterday.
London firefighters voted heavily in favour of strike action over plans to sack them all and re-employ then on less favourable contracts.
The regional committee of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) will meet today to discuss possible strike dates.
As this blog predicted on Sunday BBC union activists have now launched rank-and-file campaign to encourage a no vote in the ballot over new pension proposals.
Read their leaflet
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting. Entertainment, Cinematograph, and Theatre Union (BECTU), and Unite have already held ballots to allow lawful industrial action at the BBC.
The Rail, Martime, and Transport union (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) have an ongoing dispute on the London underground over job cuts.
On Wednesday (October 13) RMT members who work on tube fleet maintenance voted by 88% in favour of industrial action short of a strike over cuts which the union says have left brakes and other equipment in a lethal state of disrepair.
More than 2,000 UK border agency staff, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) held a two day strike this week over changes to rosters and roles.
In anticipation of this rash of disputes the Trade Union Congress - the umbrella organisation for British unions - passed a resolution calling for co-ordinated action against cuts in jobs, pensions, and public services.
COMMENT:
Strikes are about winning for ordinary workers. The best way to do that is to co-ordinate action to cause the maximum disruption for employers.
Britain's complicated trade union laws make it difficult for unions to synchronise legal strikes.
Having all these ballots completed at once gives a rare chance for joint action.
Union leaders need to talk to each other to stop the TUC resolution from being empty rhetoric.
FBU, NUJ, PCS, and RMT are all part of the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group, which doesn't have a website, but which brings togther a group of eight unions that pledge to work together on things like parliamentary lobbying.
This would seem to be a good time to co-ordinate.

McDonnell's bill aims to give workers the right to strike

Nearly 150 people crammed into a committee room at the Houses of Parliament, in London, to express their support for a private members bill to stop employers using trivial legal loopholes to prevent industrial action.
Two hours and 15 speakers later the numbers had dwindled considerably.
Those who stayed heard union leaders describe how - despite massive votes in favour of strikes – they had lost legal cases because the wording of a ballot notice had been slightly wrong, or there had been a short delay in telling bosses the result.
John Hendy QC, a top employment lawyer, said: “These irregularities do not harm the employer or cause them a damage or detriment.
“And the legislation has no concern for the democratic vote of members. The court takes no regard of whether the vote for action was 91 percent or 51 percent.”
Labour MP John McDonnell has tabled the Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill to protect union members’ right to strike.
The meeting heard that where union members are strong and determined they can defy the law.
Maria Eagle, from the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said of postal workers: “When the law doesn’t fit our members walk out anyway – and the employer doesn’t take action.”
In 1994 it was made unlawful to induce prison officers to take industrial action – but there have been unofficial strikes since.
Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said: “If any public sector prison is privatised, we have already decided, we will have a workplace ballot and strike.”
Other union speakers were from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Trades Union Congress (TUC), Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), Unite, and the United Road Transport Union (URTU).
The bill is before parliament on Friday October 22. Rules say 100 MPs must attend for the legislation to go any further.
Trades unionists can lobby their MPs and urge them to turn up and support the bill by using www.writetothem.com.
COMMENT
UK union laws are draconian and should be scrapped so union members can decide their own rules democratically.
John McDonnell’s bill is a small step in that direction.
But highly paid union officers shouldn’t be allowed to use the complications in the law as an excuse for making mistakes or frustrating workers who want to take action.
And expecting people to sit through 15 speakers is an affront to their solidarity.

NUJ says members will reject BBC pension deal

Further to my story about a rank-and-file campaign to reject the BBC's latest pensions proposal the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has now predicted a no vote in the consultative ballot which is about to start.
The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph, and Theatre Union (Bectu) and Unite are also balloting members over the offer.
BBC workers will work-to-rule on October 22 as some action must be taken to keep their ballot alive under the UK's restrictive trade union laws.
COMMENT:
A big no vote from all three unions will give strength to their negotiators and confidence to everybody if the threatened strike action goes ahead.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) - the umbrella organisation for unions in Britain - voted for co-ordinated action against cuts. Are any other workers going to join the BBC in taking action?