By a Unison member
Branch nominations have opened for the NEC elections in Unison, Britain’s biggest union. Time For Real Change (TRFC), a coalition of socialists and Labour lefts, is putting up candidates to retain control of the Executive.
It is important for branches to nominate the TFRC slate, so they can campaign for them during the Spring election period. TFRC has held a majority on the NEC for nearly four years.
Their most important reforms have been to overturn the previous ‘servicing model’ for the union and introduce an ‘organising to win’ model, which puts branch organisation and workplace reps at the heart of everything the union does. This has already resulted in a growth in membership for the first time in many years.
Andrea4GS
One bureaucratic obstacle is the current general secretary, Christine McAnea. TFRC is putting up Bolton social worker Andrea Egan to replace McAnea in next year’s election. This would give the left more authority to transform the union.
While Egan’s programme is limited, we urge our readers to support her campaign. Her strongest policies include: standing up to the Labour government and fighting against it when necessary; smoothing the path for branches wanting to take strike action; and taking only her social worker’s wage, rather than the £225,000 McAnea receives after perks are added in.
As Egan said at her launch rally in London, ‘Unison with 1.3 million members is the largest union in Britain, but our profile is terrible. Hardly anyone has heard of us. That must change.’
Indeed. Change must come. But for that change to be meaningful, TFRC must also change. It has only recently opened itself up to individual members joining. Now it needs to develop democratic structures, so the rank and file can decide its policies and hold its elected representatives, including the general secretary should Egan get elected, to account.
