UNISONaction Broad Left - What We Stand For
Over 400 conference delegates attended the launch of the group at National UNISON Conference in June 2016.
The meeting was convened to discuss the lack of effective leadership throughout UNISON at National level in most union structures.
UNISON is meant to be a lay led union but currently the majority of the NEC, most service group national committees and the national Labour Link Committee are dominated by the internal aims of some national officers rather than led to the needs of UNISON members.
This lack of effective leadership is one of the central factors behind the inability of the union to seriously challenge the continued destruction of our public services, the cut in our real earnings of over 25 % in the last 8 years and the escalating attacks on our pensions.
These issues are absolutely central to our members.
Yet even where members voted for action on pay and pensions that action was undermined by prevarication, delay and the overwhelming desire of officers, supported by the majority of the national leadership of our union, to end the disputes at the earliest opportunity rather than seek real improvements for lay members.
That lack of real leadership has cost our members dear.
Activists who seek to challenge this position are increasingly threatened with individual disciplinary action to silence them and warn off others.
Our UNISON democracy is circumvented in some ways and grossly abused in other instances.
UNISONaction Broad Left believes this situation cannot continue and the union needs to change.
To do that means electing an alternative leadership throughout our structures.
UNISONaction Broad Left is composed of a wide range of activists of different views on some issues but who are working together to bring about positive change in our union to benefit our members.
Wherever possible UNISONaction Broad Left will seek to get agreed candidates to stand for all national lay posts in future with the aim of electing a new national lay leadership to bring about the changes needed.
We would welcome UNISON activists to join us and we have contact groups in every area which you can be involved in.
All personal contact details will be confidential and kept securely and clearly no UNISON resources will be used in our activity
A national UNISONaction Broad Left site is being developed to update activists and assist in work to replace the majority of our national leadership.
If UNISON is to even try and fight to represent our members interests there is no option but to change our national leadership who year after year have failed our members.
Please consider joining us and playing your part in building a more democratic stronger union and ensure we achieve a national leadership capable of delivering that.
