Union conferences

T&G: Winds of change

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By Sue Denham

The Branch Delegate Conference of the T&G was on the surface a boring affair. No dramatic conference arguments; composites were passed in almost every case with GEC endorsement. Excellent positions on asylum seekers and the organisation of migrant workers, no hint of a right-wing agenda.

Affiliation to the United Campaign for the Repeal of the Anti-Trade Union Laws (UCRATUL) went through with GEC recommendation and was passed as part of a comprehensive composite on anti-trades union legislation.

RMT: More political freedom: now use it wisely

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By a conference delegate

The 2003 RMT conference made several rule changes governing the use of the political fund (see back page for details). These rule changes will put the RMT into direct conflict with the constitution of the Labour Party. An affiliate of the party cannot support a party or person that stands against Labour in elections. There is a chance that the Labour leadership will try to expel us from the party that we helped to set up 103 years ago.

RMT vote on political funds

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Organise the rank and file

By Colin Foster

The broadside condemnation of Blair's New Labour government by the RMT railworkers' union conference this week (29 June-4 July) is a welcome jolt to the labour movement. So is the probable decision, soon, by the RMT's Scottish region to affiliate to the Scottish Socialist Party.

But where we go from here depends on what rank-and-file activists and socialists, in the RMT and other unions, make of it.

Firefighters: cuts for pay. A bitter pill to swallow

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The FBU pay dispute ended on 12 June.

Worn down by government and media propaganda, and government threats to impose a settlement, and demoralised by their executive's refusal to fight, firefighters and control operators around the country had reluctantly accepted the employers' latest offer.

At a conference in Glasgow on 12 June their reps, most with great bitterness, respected their mandates and voted 3:1 for the executive's 'accept' motion.

Here we print the motion and those put up in opposition to it, and assessments by firefighters of the dispute and the future.

UNISON Conference 2003: Promises, promises... where are the policies?

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By Ed Whitby, delegate, Newcastle City Unison

Unison conference (17-20 June) was more about promises than policies. General Secretary Dave Prentis spent the run up to conference talking about “reclaiming the Labour Party” and working with others in the “awkward squad” of union leaders.

AWL at RMT conference

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The rail union RMT is holding its conference in Glasgow from Sunday 29 June to Friday 3 July. The major debate is around the union's political fund, with the leadership, round Bob Crow, pushing for the RMT to support Plaid Cymru (the Welsh nationalist party) and the Greens as well as Scottish Socialist Party and Labour candidates. AWL members will be opposing this push. Download the AWL bulletin for RMT conference (as pdf) here.

AWL at Unison conference 2003

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AWL members published a daily bulletin at the 2003 conference of Unison, the giant public-services union which is Britain's largest. Download the bulletins here. (Sorry, for technical reasons they're not in the tidiest format we could wish for: some headings are missing, and the pdfs have some extra blank pages. But we hope this gives readers an idea of the issues at this important conference, and what the AWL did).
Sunday 15 June, local government conference
Monday 16 June, local government conference
Tuesday 17 June, general conference
Wednesday 18 June, general conference
Thursday 19 June, general conference
Friday 20 June, general conference