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Socialists win big votesin Usdaw EC elections

Find out more: usdawactivist.wordpress.com / [email protected] / Facebook: Usdaw Activist

theActivistIssue 55

February 2015

Bulletin of Socialist Party members in

Inside:p2 - Low Pay CommissionSubmission, Fast News

p3 - Scotland After the

Independence referendump4 - Tesco Crisis, Mailbagp5 - 10 an hour proposition,Hannett interviewed by Progress

The first two months of 2015 havebeen a stressful time for retail anddistribution workers. Tesco, Morri-sons and Sainsbury have all an-nounced job cuts and/or store clo-

sures, whilst the Co-op is still reel-ing from its financial crisis lastyear.

Taken together, these companiesare the Big 4 that make up thebulk of Usdaws membership withalmost half the unions 420,000+membership concentrated inTesco.

Yet this theoretically well-

organised workforce has beenkept in the dark about these at-tacks whilst Tesco merrily an-nounce them to the market andpress. Its not easy to think of abetter example of what little prior-ity capitalism gives to ordinaryworkers!

In this context, Socialist Partymembers standing in these elec-tions put a fighting response tothe crisis in the main supermar-kets at the fore of their electioncampaigns. This was a breath offresh air compared with the

union leaderships timid response,which many reps feel equates toTesco saying jump and the unionasking how high.

Socialist Party member Amy Mur-phy topped the poll to be re-elected in the Southern divisionwith a whopping 2,263 votes, 559votes more than last time on aturnout that was down by over1,000. In the presidential electionshe won 9,529 votes, 45% of thetotal running the incumbent Presi-dent, Jeff Broome, incrediblyclose indeed much closer thanwhen the late Socialist Party

member Robbie Segal stood in2009.

This increased percentage votereflects the changed situation theunion finds itself in, however, thelow turnout (5.5% for the presi-dential election) is indicative of acertain apathy bred by the unionslack of an ability to deal with someof the fundamental questions fac-ing retail workers at the presenttime around the cost of living cri-sis

Yet this result wasnt just around

the outstanding record of Amy onthe unions executive, but abroader challenge. Socialist Partymember Scott Jones standing forthe first time in the South Wales &

Western division was just 113votes short of winning a seat on871 votes. Fellow Broad Left ac-tivist Sue Perridge also won a re-spectable 617 votes in the East-ern division.

This result should be a call toarms to the left in the union andany Usdaw member who wants tosee a fighting union. It is essentialthat the Broad Left becomes a

campaigning body within the un-ion and a further challenge ismounted in the likely general sec-retary election, as well as effortsbuilt up to mount a full slate ofBroad Left candidates in the nextexecutive elections.

There is a growing appetiteamong Usdaw members for amore militant union with a leader-ship that isnt attached to pro-bigbusiness New Labour and doesntslavishly follow partnershipagreements with the employers.

Activist editorial board

A Message from Amy Murphy'A tremendous thank you to all comrades for your support in thepresidential and executive council elections. I would also like tocongratulate Scott and Sue on their fantastic achievements andhope others will follow to build a stronger, pro-active and chal-

lenging broad left. I believe the tide is changing and together wecan bring about much needed change and make it happen.

If you agree with Amy - e-mail [email protected]

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Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW


Usdaw members will have been

surprised to read in the Novem-ber/December 2014 issue of Net-work about the unions submis-sion of evidence to the Low PayCommission for the forthcomingannual review of the NationalMinimum Wage.

In the submission, the union failsto call for either the 10 an hourminimum wage it supported at thisyears TUC Congress or for a liv-

ing wage which was supported bythe 2013 ADM. Instead the figureof 7 an hour was argued for.

Although 7 an hour would repre-sent a more substantive increaseof 50p than the measly 19p of-fered this year, it still falls well be-low the 7.85 an hour level of theofficial living wage, which itself,due to taking into account benefitsand other factors, is below a realliving wage.

Moreover, instead of arguing forthe abolition of youth rates of payaltogether, the submission onlycalls for the payment of 18 yearolds at the top rate of minimumwage. But what about those 17 oryounger. However popular theimage is of 16-17 year old work-ers still living at home, this cer-

tainly isnt the case for all youngworkers who have the same rentand bills to pay as all other work-ers do.

The Usdaw submission falls along way short of what Usdawmembers demand and expect ourleadership to be campaigning for.This is a genuine living wage,which through the TUC discussionis now articulated in a figure of

10 an hour (which Usdaw sup-ported!). It is also the abolition ofyouth rates and exemptions topaying the full minimum wage to

all workers.

This should be combined with afight to make sure Sundays, over-time and night work are paid sup-plementary higher rates abovethis to recompense the inconven-ience to workers. Indeed introduc-ing a minimum rate for such al-lowances would be a step forwardas opposed to the erosion of thisterms which supermarkets havebeen in the lead of doing awaywith them.

At the very least if there are somegenuine reasons why the EC (orGeneral Secretary who is ac-countable to the EC) feel tactically

we should argue for somethingless than our policy then theseissues should be spelt out to themembership who then can holdthe EC to account. Yet with a tinyarticle this cannot be done.

Instead it appears that our leader-ship are once again surrenderingour positions before the battle hasbeen fought. This adds even moreurgency for the election of left

candidates to the EC to resolutelycarry out the wishes of the mem-bership.

Quick News:Alright for some at the top

As workers continue to face acontinual squeeze on their payand working conditions, with thetop rate of the minimum wageonly increasing by a measly 19p,let compare it to one of thosesitting on the Low Pay Commis-sion who suggest the rate.

In the Autumn issue of Arena

contains the financial statementto members for the year to De-cember 2013. It details the payand remuneration of UsdawGeneral Secretary John Hannett.

Far from the average wage of awarehouse worker at a little un-der 20k a year, our John re-cives 95,514 in salary alone,plus a whopping 42,408 in

benefits. Its alright for some!

Shoppers Buying CheaperLines as Belts Tighten

The latest results from NeilsensConsumer Confidence Indexshow that 60% of shoppers arebuying cheaper grocery brandsto save money.

This is perhaps unsurprisinggiven the squeeze on the wagesof all workers during this reces-sion. But the survey also foundthat 37% of shoppers intendedon keeping buying cheaper prod-ucts even as the economy re-covers.

This just highlights how little of a

recovery there is for ordinarypeople.

7 an hour - Joke Submission to LowPay Commission on Minimum Wage

Usdaw members carrying placards call-ing for a 10 an hour minimum wage

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This article was originally written

just after the result of the ScottishIndependence Referendum lastyear. Although those leaving theunion appears to be a lower figureof 600 leaving the union over theissue (1%) its still a worrying figure.

However, some of the issues thisreferendum unleashed will not goaway, as was showed by the crisisin the Labour Party, the supposed

victors of the referendum. Both thepartys leader and deputy resigned,as the gap between many workingclass people and the party the pur-ports to represent them turned intoa chasm.

In the subsequent leadership elec-tion Usdaw unfortunately was oneof only two unions to support theright-wing Blairite candidate, JimMurphy. This has disgusted even

more members in Scotland, includ-ing those who argued for a Novote.

Jim Muprhys record is terrible. Hehas helped modernise (read cut)public services whilst in the cabinetoffice during the last Labour gov-ernment. He was also amongst theworst offenders in the expensesscandal and led the attack on Unitethe Union during the Falkirk Eastsaga last year. Whilst President ofNUS he broke conference policy tosupport the ending of studentgrants.

Yet this is a person who John Han-nett can wholeheartedly back in theNovember/December issue of Net-work. This speaks volumes aboutthe mis-leadership of the union.Muprhys election will lead to a fur-

ther crises in the Scottish LabourParty.

Friday mornings result from the

Scottish Independence Referen-

dum will have verberations aroundUsdaw for some time, and not justas a result of how near the Yesvote seemed to come to triumph-ing.

A last minute e-mail/letter, signedby John Hannett, urging a No vote,has led to a wave of resignationsfrom Usdaw across Scotland. Ac-cording to reps, one of the unions

offices reported 6,000 members leftin the last week before the referen-dum. This is out of a membership,which was reported as of Decem-ber 2013 as 45,683 in the unionsmost recent Annual Report. A lossof membership from Usdaw of thisscale (13%) should give pause forthought for every member as towhy this has happened.

Whilst some criticising Hannetts

letter argue on the grounds that theunion shouldnt be advising mem-bers on how to vote, the Activistbelieves trade unionists shouldhave the right to debate and dis-cuss the best way forward on anyissue affecting us. However, thismust be done in an engaging man-ner that engages the widest possi-ble layers of the membership be-fore coming to a decision.

To our knowledge, there have onlybeen two times this issue has beendiscussed officially by the unionboth of which were deeply flawed.The first was at ADM in 2010where the only contributions on thesubject were the mover (who incor-rectly stated that Wales joined theunion after Scotlandactually itwas annexed by England long be-fore), and Hannett himself replying

to the discussion. Although alsomentioned in Executive Statementsin 2013 and 2014, this cannot seri-ously be taken as being debated as

there are no facilities to amend or

oppose such statements at ADM.

The second time was at a Scottishdivisional conference in early 2014where, as we commented at thetime in the Activist, the onlyspeaker was Alistair Darling on be-half of Better Together. Whilst thatled to an 82% vote in favour, manymembers abstained in protest at aprocedure that was hardly a model

of democracy.

An indication of how unrepresenta-tive this was of at least a proportionof members was shown by a de-bate reported on newsnetscot-land.com. A branch representingIKEA workers in Glasgow held adebate with speakers from withinthe union on both sidesafter ademocratic debate the meetingtook a vote. Not a single person

voted No, with 82.5% favouringYes and the rest being DontKnows. This however, was the onlydebate we are aware of takingplacein these circumstances wehave to ask if such debates ofthese had been organised in theunion prior to an official stance tak-ing place would we be seeing suchlarge numbers of members leav-ing?

Its all very good for John Hannettin press comments on the resultWe must now move on togetherto focus on campaigning to im-prove workers lives across thewhole of the United Kingdom. Ifhe really wanted workers to moveforward together then its was en-cumbent upon him and the rest ofthe unions leadership to have en-sured a democratic debate on this

crucial issue throughout Usdaw if we fail to move forward togetherthen the fault can be put at thefeet of Hannett and his clique.

Scotland - After the Independence ReferendumLabour Party Pay The Price for Supporting Tories

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2014 has been a year ofgloom for Tesco. Share priceshave fell to a 14-year low onTuesday 6

th January 2015,

coming after falling profits,corruption in the board roomand an overhaul of Tescosleadership.

Scott Jones, candidate for Us-

daw EC South Wales & West-ern division

Tescos first trading statementof 2015 brought further profitswarnings, news of cuts andfurther attacks on workers.The supermarket giant is setto close 43 unprofitablestores, mostly smaller ex-presses, reduce and relocate

its head office and do awaywith the final salary pensionscheme for all staff.

It says everything about thebankruptcy of capitalism thatthis brutal downsizing was metwith a sharp rise in the shareprice!

However, Tescos own profit

predictions remain in the bil-lions at 1.4 billion and theirmarket share remains a littleunder three times that of dis-counters Lidl & Aldi combined.

Even when Moodys an-nounced on Friday a reductionto junk status of Tescos short-term debt, it stated that itsprofit margin would only bereduced to 3-4%.

Despite this Tesco is attempt-

ing to balance the books andreturn to super-profitable wayson the backs of its already low-paid workers.

The only ways for a commer-cial retailer like Tesco to boostprofits is to increase sales orcut costs and new CEO DaveLewis has chosen the latter,

with unprecedented store clo-sures and the final nail in thecoffin that is a Tesco pension.

Scandalously, Usdaw, our un-ion released a statementwhich immediately recognisesthat change is inevitable andnoting the difficulties facingTesco when it should be im-mediately pledging to fight

against any job losses and at-tacks on terms and conditionsand demanding that Tescoopen the books to prove theunprofitability of the 43 storesset to close.

In contrast, Unite, which repre-sents many Tesco drivers, de-mands that Tesco workersshould not be made to pay for

the failure in the boardroom.

However, it is Usdaw thatrepresents the overwhelmingmajority of Tesco and othersupermarket workers and itsthese workers who also needa fighting leadership preparedto take on the bosses nowmore than ever.

Tesco Crisis: Making Work-ers Pay for Bosses Mistakes

MailbagDear Activist

I was one of the Usdaw members on

the TUC demo, Britain Needs a PayRise and Arena tells me that ourmembers took to the streets of Lon-don in October to demand a pay risefor Britains workers.Our General Secretary clearly tookthe message of the demo to heart.While Usdaw negotiated 1.4% forme, Hannett has offered 3% to hisstaff.I am told he earns nearly 100,000,so he gets a 3,000 increase while I

get a pittance. Am I the only one thatthinks this is wrong?

ComradelyJack, London

The General Secretary and spotthe difference

Quote 1: Arena Autumn 2013.

In the year ended 31 December2012, . . .

the salary paid to the post of Gen-eral Secretary of 93,508 and em-ployers contributions in respect ofNational Insurance and Superannua-tion of 11,885 and 18,984 respec-tively. The value placed by the InlandRevenue on the car supplied to theGeneral Secretary amounts to9,511.

Quote 2: Arena Autumn 2014.

For the period ended 31 December2013, . . .

The General Secretary of the Unionwas paid 94,514 in respect of sal-ary and 42,408 in respect of bene-fits including employer National In-surance contributions, employer pen-sion contributions and the provision

of the Union car.

Answers on a postcard...

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Trade union leaders dont oftengive interviews to Progress, a

right-wing grouping in the La-bour party. The fact that JohnHannett has done so in an inter-view published on their websiteon 10th February says muchabout the man and his leader-ship of our union.

Yet this isnt the only thing Us-daw members should take noteof from this interview. Hannettmakes a number of revealingcomments in the course of theinterview.

Most striking are the commentsabout his role on the Low PayCommission (LPC), the articlestates

"Hannett is keen to keep the

commission above the politicalfray: Its the one body that has

been able to keep a consensussince 1999, despite the individ-

ual pressures on those constitu-ents, whether its the econo-mists, business, small businessleaders or trade unionists. Itsproved its value. But, he says,The challenge now is that,against the background of theliving wage campaign thats outthere, the fact that pay has fallenbehind or not kept pace withwages, the commissions workwill become even more impor-tant in the years ahead."

In essence this is saying theLPC has been able to help Han-nett resist the pressures of lowpaid workers in Usdaw and otherunions demanding a living wage.

If the unions financially sound,

then members may wonder whyhe keeps coming to ADM for a

subs increase when the last fewyears Annual Reports have

shown an increasing surplus inthe unions funds?

Furthermore, Hannett goes on tostate about attending Progressevents Thats really how youinform the decision-makers, theopinion-formers. So for him thecollective actions and voice ofthe membership are not how weinfluence the big supermarketsor the government, its individu-als cleverly putting across theirview. Yet that has clearly workedout well with the Tesco partner-ship

This just goes to show how nec-essary it is for the left in Usdawto build upon the 45% won byAmy Murphy in the recent presi-

dential elections.

Hannetts Revealing Interview in Progress

Scandalous Removal of 10 an hour proposition from ADM agenda

The Activist has been made awareof the blocking of a proposition fromEast of Scotland Morrisons thatwould have been due to go beforethe 2015 ADM.

The proposition read

This ADM calls upon the ExecutiveCouncil to follow the BFAWU andthe GMB and adopt as policy the10 an hour minimum wage cam-paign. Conference also calls uponthe Executive Council to supportand encourage any and all memberof Usdaw to become involved inany grassroots/trade council activitythat supports this campaign.

Yet scandalously this has beenruled off the conference agendaunder Standing Order No.1 on the

basis that it will be debating a topicthat has been at ADM in the lasttwo years.

Yet this issue hasnt been debated,it had been smuggled into another5 propositions which all were about

youth rates of the minimum wage -something which actually had beendebated at last years ADM.

We assume whatever official wasresponsible for presenting thesemotions to the Executive Council,hoped that the EC and other mem-bers wouldnt notice.

This is the second year in a rowthat procedure hasnt been cor-

rectly followed around Standing Or-der No.1. Last year a whole slew ofrule change and other propositions

were thrown out on the groundsthey were misleading, despite therulebook saying branches shouldbe given a chance to fix such er-rors.

Thankfully, after a backlash about

this issue, highlighted in the Activ-ist, this has been succesfully chal-lenged. We urge East of ScotlandMorrisons to do the same this yearand challenge this decision.

However, if the unions leadershipthink demands around increasingthe minimum wage will go awaythey are sadly mistaken. Despitetheir attempts to water down ADMpolicy (see page 2), Activist sup-

porters will make sure 10 an hourminimum wage is on the order pa-per of ADM 2016.

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