International

Unite Policy Conference 2021 – day four

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Below is an update on Thursday’s business. #UPC2021 finished off the motions on Rights for Workers and their Unions and debated motions on Social Action and Organising, Global Solidarity, International & Europe, and heard from Frances O’Grady – TUC General Secretary and Tom Conway – President of the United Steel Workers. See previous posts for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. These posts also include links to key documents including the text of motions.

Rights for Workers and their Unions

Motion 104 – ILO convention on violence and harassment – agreed

Motion 105 – The Surveillance Society – agreed

Motion 106+A – The Surveillance Society – agreed

Social Action

Composite 18 (motions 111+A, 113+A) National Health Service – agreed

Motion 110 National Health Service – agreed

Motion 112 National Health Service – agreed

Motion 119 National Health Service – agreed

Composite 19 (motions 117, 118) Local Authority Cuts – agreed

Motion 114 Local Authority Cuts – agreed

Motion 115 Local Authority Cuts – agreed

Motion 116 Local Authority Cuts – agreed

Motion 120+A Public Services – agreed

Motion 121 End Unfair Evictions – agreed

Motion 122+A Accessible Welfare – agreed

Motion 123 Digitisation and Welfare – agreed

Motion 124 Digitisation and Welfare – agreed

Motion 126 Care Homes – agreed

Motion 127 Care Homes – agreed

Motion 125 Unfair Overdraft Charges – agreed

Motion 129 Power of Attorney – agreed

Emergency Motion 2 Campaign against cuts to face to face debt advice services (see below for text) – agreed

Organising

Composite 11 (motions 79, 80, 81) Precarious Workers – agreed

Motion 137 Precarious Workers – agreed

Motion 83 Organising Young Workers – agreed

Motion 136 National Youth Co-ordinator – agreed

Motion 78 Organising in Hospitality and Tourism – agreed

Global Solidarity, International & Europe

Motion 43 Brexit & Ireland – agreed

Motion 44 Brexit & Gibraltar – agreed

Composite 6 (motions 45, 46) The Post Brexit World – agreed

Composite 7 (motions 47, 48) The Post Brexit World – agreed

Composite 8 (motions 50, 51) The Post Brexit World – agreed

Motion 49 The Post Brexit World – remitted

Motion 107 The Post Brexit World – agreed

Motion 108 The Post Brexit World – agreed

Motion 52 Black Lives Matter – agreed

Motion 53 India & Kashmir – agreed

Motion 54+A Palestine – agreed

Motion 55 IHRA – fell

Motion 57 Latin America – agreed

Motion 58 Latin America – agreed

Motion 59 Turkey/Kurds – agreed

Emergency Motion 2 Campaign against cuts to face to face debt advice services

Conference notes that the Money & Pensions Service (MaPS) funds much of the debt advice provision across England. The recommissioning process for contracts beginning April 2022 closed on 15th October, and has already led to proposed job cuts across the sector.

Conference further notes the new contracts will result in 50-60% cuts to face-to-face community-based debt advice at a time when demand for debt advice will increase sharply due to the cuts to Universal Credit, increasing energy bills and National Insurance.

Conference believes that debt advisers are already facing higher demand and having to deal with more complex cases than ever before. A workforce of well qualified, highly specialised, dedicated para-legal professionals is already overwhelmed and demoralised by the current MaPS contract which focuses on high volume targets and intensive quality assurance that combine to leave insufficient time for advisers to deal with complex cases.

Conference further believes that debt is not just a symptom of individual financial difficulty, it is also a symptom of systematic failure. It is a failure to redesign the ways in which our economy and wider society works to free people from poverty and isolation and give everyone a decent life. Problem debt needs to be part of wider conversations about the rising living costs that people are facing; the expansion of unstable or poorly paid work and declining social security protections

Conference welcomes the new Unite Debt Advice Network (UDAN) has been formed, connecting debt advisers across the country to campaign on national threats to pay and conditions.

Conference calls on the Executive to organise a high profile campaign to demand the following:

  1. suspend all recommissioning for at least 12 months to allow independent research into future demand
  2. Immediate suspension of the bureaucratic quality-monitoring process (‘DAPA’)
  3. support the work of Unite’s Debt Advice Network campaign to oppose the MaPS recommissioning 
  4. use all Unite media and social media platforms to explain the recommissioning process and the impact this will have on debt advice services
  5. campaign for increased funding for face-to-face community-based debt advice , not cut, in any resumed recommissioning​
  6. ensure future decisions by MaPS about debt advice jobs and services include consultation with Unite.

Defend Free Speech on Palestine

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Unite has good policy on Palestine, including support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). It was a setback to see the Unite delegates going along with (and Len McCluskey welcoming) the the Labour NEC statement:

“We recommend that we adopt the IHRA in full with all examples. This does not in any way undermine the freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of Palestinians. We re-invite the organisations to re-engage in consultation on the Code of Conduct.”

The IHRA definition and its examples are intended to undermine freedom of expression on Israel and the rights of Palestinians by smearing the movement in support of Palestinians, and in particular the BDS movement, as antisemitic (more information here and here).

Nelson Mandela quote "We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of Palestinians"
Image: Palestine Solidarity Campaign

Hundreds of Unite activists had signed an open letter opposing the adoption of the most problematic IHRA examples in just three weeks. Those, like Len McCluskey, who argued that Labour should adopt the IHRA examples were wrong for two reasons. They were wrong to imagine that this would curtail the smears against the Labour leadership and all those who support the Palestinian cause; and they were wrong to think such an opportunistic approach justifies supporting a tool that is being used to strengthen these smears. This can only do long-term damage to the fight against the oppression of Palestinians. Giving in to bullies doesn’t work. Rather than giving in to those who want to silence criticism of Israel, we must speak out in defence of Palestinians and of free speech on the oppression they are resisting.

We encourage:

  1. Activists to sign and circulate a new statement being used across all trade unions: https://goo.gl/forms/vKVaHdnDi4jdVId12
  2. Unite branches to send motions in through their Areas and Regions, to the Executive Council, demanding that our union stands firm in support of Palestinian freedom and does not give an inch to those who would claim that doing so is antisemitic. A model motion you can adapt is below.
  3. Those in the Unite delegation to Labour Party conference to argue for the delegation to oppose adoption of the problematic IHRA examples

Model motion: Free Speech on Palestine

… branch is proud of Unite’s strong stance in support of the Palestinian struggle, including the movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.

Within the movement in support of Palestine there is a wide range of legitimate views held by Jews and non-Jews, including:

  • That the foundation of a state based on the exclusion of much of the existing population on grounds of race or religion is a racist endeavour
  • That Israel is a colonial settler state founded on the oppression and exclusion of the majority of the existing population, and that no people has the right to “self determination” on this basis, no matter how appalling their own suffering
  • That a state which allows Jews who have never lived there a “right of return” but does not extend the same right to non-Jewish Palestinian residents who were expelled or left is inherently racist
  • That Israel’s systematically discriminatory policies, including its recently passed “nation state” law make it an “apartheid state” and its claims to be a democratic nation empty
  • That aspects of the behaviour of the Israeli state are comparable with aspects of Nazi policy, particularly in the earlier years of Nazi rule
  • That it is legitimate to focus solidarity on oppressed people who resist, even if others are suffering just as much

While not everybody holds these views, and this branch acknowledges that all these views can be held by racists, or can be expressed in racist, insensitive or unhelpful ways, these views are not in themselves racist or antisemitic.

This branch believes that there is a consistent attempt to unjustly smear supporters of Palestine as antisemitic in order to weaken the movement for Palestinian freedom. This branch notes that the IHRA working definition of antisemitism and examples have already been used (e.g. by Barnet Council and University of Central Lancashire) to falsely claim that legitimate views or debate on Palestine and Israel are antisemitic.

This branch resolves to oppose any definition of antisemitism which suggests that legitimate views or debate on Palestine and Israel are antisemitic, which not only undermines the fight for Palestinian freedom, but undermines the fight against genuine antisemitism.

This branch resolves to send this motion to the Executive Council via the Regional Committee and/or Area Activists Committee as required.