Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

UNISON NEC (no live blogging!)

This morning there's a meeting of UNISON's National Executive Council - I'll blog a report here after the event but won't be live blogging as the President has asked me not to.

No doubt we will be discussing the local government pay dispute (I expect some searching questions about fairly unimpressive strike leaflets - and of course mention will be made of the disappointing results of the TGWU-UNITE and GMB consultative ballots (the GMB result is a fairly massive vote to accept a real terms pay cut).

There will also be discussion about the forthcoming demonstration in defence (or is it celebration) of the National Health Service set for 3 November. I understand from an NEC comrade on the Policy Committee that the question "what will we do if there is a General Election on 8 November" is a questions which it is not permissible to ask!

Check back here later in the day and I'll have posted a report.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Leaflets and posters for the Nov 3rd Demo are awful. I heart the NHS indeed. the idea of celabrating the bad employer NHS went down like a lead balloon at our branch meeting

Kate Ahrens said...

I agree too, but this demonstration is the best opportunity we have to exhibit the strength of feeling amongst health workers and users of the NHS about the awful mess that the government has created.

We can't let our understandable annoyance at the way the union leadership has advertised the event get in the way of making the demo the biggest possible protest against the attacks on the health service.

Perhaps your branch could produce its own leaflets that say what you want them to?