The excitement has been building for months prior to conference with the publication of the preliminary agenda. The first UNDC since 2019 it was expected to be magnificent affair. Finally coming together again to debate submitted motions, amendments and rule changes, that will set the UNISON agenda for the forthcoming year and beyond.
This year we seen over 200 submissions for business, to fit into four days of activity. It is with great sadness that the delegates where forced to act and stand up to defend our union from within instead of getting on and dealing with the important business.
Members of the elected body the National Executive Council (NEC) illegally changed the rules of the union for one person. Members our rules are there for the better of everyone. The rule was changed to let a member who had been dismissed from employment stay not only as a member of UNISON but also as an elected official. No ordinary elected official of the union but the President.
This fiasco took up the whole day of business on Tuesday and also the whole of Friday morning. Taking away valuable debates and time for delegates to get on with issues that matter to their members.
The conference passed a vote of no confidence in the NEC. The NEC should have done the honourable action and should have resigned, but they didn’t.
The conference passed a motion that unemployed members can no longer hold a place in the union. The President should have stepped aside, but he didn’t.
The NEC continued and dragged their heels on these motions and on Friday morning was taken up by forcing the NEC to respond by means of an Emergency Motion.
Delegates did manage to get some business and some vital important motions passed. Check out the @UNISONljmu Twitter feed with the #UNISONljmu #UNDC22
For more information on this check out Roger McKenzie’s reporting of the conference in the Morning Star.
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