Support Hugo Pierre and transform Unison into a fighting democratic union

The election for a new general secretary of Unison, the largest trade union in Britain with 1.4 million members, has begun. Socialist Party Scotland is backing Hugo Pierre, a Unison NEC member, in the election. Hugo explains below why he is standing.

A general secretary on a worker’s wage

“I am standing in this election to transform our union into a fighting, democratic trade union. A union that wins for members. I want to prepare our union to resist the attack on our jobs, pay, terms and conditions as the Tory government tries to make public sector workers pay for their mishandling of the Covid crisis. No return to austerity.

My national experience

I am the elected Male Black Members’ representative on the national executive committee, and have been since 2015. I am also elected onto the local government service group executive representing schools. I, along with others, fought for our school members to have the right to take national action against school funding cuts.

I have organised successful campaigns as a schools’ convenor to fight low pay, particularly of women workers – nursery nurses, teaching assistants and school meals workers. I have successfully fought school and nursery closures, and stopped one of our schools converting to an academy (we have no academy conversions in our council).

I represented a Windrush victim and pushed forward Unison’s national policy against the hostile environment.

I want our members’ successes, like the magnificent Glasgow equal pay victory, at the bold heart of this union. We cannot afford to repeat the last ten years of failure to defeat austerity.

We won’t pay for the Covid crisis

Fight local authority cuts: Now is the time for Unison to lead a national fight against another £10 billion of threatened Tory cuts. Fight all cuts to services, jobs, pay and conditions. UK-wide action to fight council cuts – don’t leave branches to fight alone. We must demand Labour and SNP councillors don’t vote for cuts.

For a real fight on NHS pay: I support Unison demanding an immediate pay rise for all workers on ‘Agenda for Change’ – not to wait until next April. Branches and regions must discuss an immediate 15% pay claim now to reverse the austerity years’ pay cuts. Build local demonstrations (safely) and back UK-wide action, including an industrial action ballot. Send the claim to all NHS private sector providers. Coordinate public and private sector action across the NHS.

No to education privatisation: Full funding for early years and schools. Full funding for further and higher education.

End low pay: For a £15 an hour minimum wage.

For a renationalised NHS and social care sector: Bring all public services back in-house with full collective bargaining and national terms and conditions. Scrap PFI contracts and cancel the PFI debts. End continual restructures – for workers’ control and management of the NHS. I support a conference of our members across service groups to campaign for social care to become a fully public service under democratic control.

Safety first for all staff: Full stocks of PPE in all settings. Renationalise the equipment supply chain. Test, track, and trace back to local public health. Union health and safety reps must decide if it is safe to work.

No fees for training: Bring back healthcare student bursaries and end tuition fees for all.

Fight for jobs and homes not racism: Black Lives Matter! Unison must draw up workplace action plans to end institutional racism and discrimination in all our public services, so the whole union can fight bullying and harassment. Oppose the far right with action and policies to fight for jobs, homes and services. Unison’s National Black Members’ Committee supports my campaign to become general secretary

For a trade union fight to end environmental catastrophe: For a democratic plan to develop sustainable and green energy supply and distribution, including the renationalisation of all energy companies under workers’ control and management, with compensation only on the basis of proven need. No loss of jobs, pay and conditions for any workers in the sector. Fight British Gas sacking and re-employing workers on worse conditions. For mass funding of green public transport. A public sector house-building programme ensuring green measures from the start, and refurbishments of all properties to ensure energy efficiency.

Building strength and democracy

Build Unison: For a national campaign to increase our workplace organisation, with financial and physical resources for branch action plans to double the number of shop stewards in the next two years. Draw young people into activity – for a democratic national young members’ conference in 2021.

For genuine lay member control of our union: Election of union paid officials starting with assistant general secretaries and regional secretaries. Our branches must have a genuine right to campaign to change and develop our union policy – let the members decide. Full financial resources for our branches.

Support branches that want to fight: End unecessary delay in industrial action procedures with a full review to ensure they are responsive, and allow branch ballots where there is clear support for action.

A fighting political voice

Not a penny more of our members’ money to Labour representatives who back cuts, privatisation or austerity: Unison branches should democratically decide if they support labour movement candidates for UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru or local councils that put Unison policies into action, even if they are not Labour Party members.

Let Scotland decide: For a new independence referendum determined by the Scottish people. For a trade union campaign to end austerity and invest in jobs, and services.

Unison is proud to have a million women members. Now we must stand up by fighting to end low pay, stopping the cuts, halting privatisation and bringing services back in-house, and for the return of their stolen state pensions. We must negotiate paid time off for all our stewards to organise a stronger union.

I pledge not to take the £138,000 general secretary salary but take only my current salary and donate back over £100,000 to Unison members’ campaigns, strike funds and welfare.”

Scotland

Hugo fully supports the position of UNISON Scotland for the right of the Scottish Parliament to call another independence referendum. Hugo calls for the trade unions to lead the campaign for democratic rights 

Hugo backs the fight for an independent socialist Scotland 

Hugo demands that Labour and SNP councils stop making Tory cuts and instead fight to defend jobs and services 

We believe that only Hugo Pierre has the serious strategy and programme needed to transform Unison into a fighting and democratic union, able to confront the current situation. The general secretary election is a platform to bring together all those activists who agree with Hugo’s programme to build a fighting left within Unison. This can be the basis to transform the union at all levels into the fighting union that members need as they engage in the fight of their lives.

We call on all Unison members to vote for Hugo Pierre.

• Rules introduced by Unison to clamp down on democratic debate in the union mean that candidates for union elections cannot ‘invite or accept’ support ‘in money or kind’ from any entity which ‘is not provided for in Unison rules’. These articles are produced without the authorisation of Hugo Pierre, in order to comply with these requirements.