UNISON Labour Link
REPORT 2004
Labour Link: Unions winning key policy changes
The main issue which Labour Link has taken into the Labour
Party in Edinburgh during the first part of 2004 was the Nursery
Nurses pay claim and dispute.
Sadly it is not possible to say that this changed substantially
the positions taken by the City Council, although I know a number
of Labour Party members and Councillors were surprised to hear
of the unhelpful role played by Edinburgh on the question of
national negotiations, which were after all written into the
Single Status Agreement.
The other main issue we have had to address has been the proposal
to transfer all the Council's housing stock to a Housing Association.
This policy was not in Labour's manifesto and had not been debated
in the Labour Party before being announced by the Labour Group
to the press.
We have argued UNISON's case that stock transfer is not needed
in order to improve and expand the housing stock and will reduce
the capacity of the Council to respond to problems like homelessness
and neighbourhood renewal. This view is supported by many in
the Labour Party, including at least one Constituency Labour
Party. The debates have clarified that the Council's policy
is a response to the offer of substantial investment funds,
on the condition of stock transfer, rather than driven by internal
considerations about the way to manage housing stock.
At the national level this has been the year in which the unions
affiliated to the Labour Party have started to co-ordinate effectively
their efforts around policy. The outcomes were seen in the agreements
at the National Policy Forum in Warwick at which the unions
won a number of important policy changes; and later at the Labour
Party conference were the vote went in favour of re-nationalisation
of the rail network.
UNISON and in particular Dave Prentis has played a crucial
role in these developments. Our branch has contributed to taking
them forward by proposing at the Scottish Labour Link Forum
that we now need a concerted focus on two key issues at the
root of differences between UNISON and the UK government, specifically,
on 'out-sourcing', procurement and public service funding; and
subservience to the USA in international and military policy.
Matthew Crighton
APF Officer
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