30 years ago, I attended my first trade union conference as a delegate. It was NALGO’s penultimate conference, in Bournemouth. I attended the last NALGO conference the following year, and from 1994 onwards I was present at every UNISON conference as either a branch or regional delegate or as an NEC member, until 2017 when I stood down from my UNISON positions.
In all those years, attending all those Conferences, I have never heard as interesting, as informative and as political a speech moving UNISON's accounts as I heard today from the Chair of the UNISON NEC Finance Committee, Dan Sartin.
Dan explained that the new NEC are committed to using UNISON's robust financial position to increase our industrial action fund so that we can support our members when they are driven to take action by the cost of living crisis. He emphasised the correct decision of the NEC to double the rate of strike pay and make it payable from the first day of any action. He made clear that the Industrial Action Committee will be reviewing their procedures to ensure that UNISON can more readily support branches wanting to take strike action.
Dan also committed the NEC to keeping the new regime for branch funding under review to make sure that it meets the needs of our members and their branches. He also put down a marker that, just as the NEC would be looking to shift money from its reserves into the industrial action fund, so it would want to consult branches about how to make constructive use of the millions of pounds sitting in bank accounts at branch level.
With inflation reaching levels never before seen during the lifetime of UNISON, our members will be driven to fight for fair pay or see living standards fall through the floor. It is reassuring to know that the union’s finances are in the custody of lay members who know that the resources of our trade union exist for the benefit of the members of our trade union.
It was also good to hear the chair of the NEC Finance Committee committing themselves to improving lay governance and transparency in the management of UNISON resources. As a long serving former NEC member I know that previous NECs failed over and over again to exercise adequate control over the resources of the union, allowing officers to spend millions without any proper accountability. For the first time since vesting day in 1993, I have some confidence that our lay National Executive may be able to assert the control it ought to have over expenditure in UNISON.
Dan described himself, with characteristic self-deprecation, as merely the “warm-up act" for our president, Paul Holmes. Paul went on to give what I can honestly say was the best presidential address I have ever heard, heartfelt, funny, honest and to the point.
The beginning of Paul’s speech was marred by a poorly organised and clumsily executed attempt at a walkout by a small minority of delegates, with a few more standing up and turning their backs. This feeble little protest, the organisation of which demonstrated the tin ear of whose ever idea it was, fizzled out as a far larger number of delegates insisted that they wanted to hear from Paul, who went on to cover a wide range of topics in a highly personal and enormously engaging address.
Paul drew on the past wisdom of Jack London, Napoleon and Oscar Wilde (among others), to talk about the sort of trade union we need and the sort of trade unionists we need to be. Characteristically, he cited comments from ordinary members to illustrate the points he needed to make about the cost of living crisis and how our trade union needs to respond.
I have to say that I never thought to see such a stirring socialist speech from a UNISON president. Meaning no disrespect to Paul's many predecessors, but I often used to struggle to pay attention to the presidential address which, in the past, sometimes seemed to simply be a way of taking up time that would have been better spent debating motions.
This year delegates were treated to a truly rousing introduction to our Conference by our most senior elected lay official.
Given my state of health it is likely that this will be the last year that I will hear the opening of UNISON National Delegate Conference (certainly the last year in which I will hear this in person). I could not imagine a better conclusion to a lifetime of attending Conference.
Whatever happens in the remainder of the week - and Conference does seem to be moving back into a mode in which actual debates take place where people disagree with one another - UNISON members can rest assured that they have elected an NEC which is well-led and committed to preparing for the struggles to come.
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