Unity!

by Martin Levy

“The Union forever, defending ourrights,” sings Billy Bragg. Is there adelegate at this Annual Congress whodoesn’t feel that way about UCU, whodoesn’t want it to go from strength tostrength?Certainly this union has achieved muchsince it was founded, building on thefoundations of NATFHE and AUT, butgoing much higher – speaking with onecoherent voice on post-secondaryeducation; standing up to ruthlessemployers; challenging governmentausterity policies; driving forward theequality agenda; battling over pay,pensions and conditions; fightingcasualisation; supporting individualmembers; and strengthening solidarity,both across the union and with the widerlabour and progressive movement. The

whole is definitively more than the sumof its parts!But laurels are meant for wearing, notresting upon – and in these days youhave to run simply to stand still.Workers across Britain are taking abattering – over jobs, pay, pensions,benefits and democratic rights – and thetrade union movement is not immunefrom that. Membership in Britain fellbelow 6 million for the first time in 2012,and the process is accelerating. It is notfor nothing that the government isattacking the public sector – not only dothey want to provide new opportunitiesfor profiteers, they are seeking to breakthe strength of organised labour where itstill has significant density.

continued overleaf

The future for UCU‘The Union Forever’:only if we make it so!

Communists at UCU congress 2013

Sector conferencesPay and conditionsBuild fightingconfidence for effective actionThe formation of the ConDemgovernment in 2010 has facilitated anincreasingly intense ideologicaloffensive in the education arena.Working from the platformestablished by New Labour, thisradical right-wing government isintent on further fragmenting theeducation service and opening up thesystem to profit-making privatecompanies.

The vast majority of HE and FE employershave swallowed the dominant politicalnarrative in its entirety and have beenslavishly doing their part – through a never-ending round of restructurings, suppressionof wages and attacks on hard-won conditionsof employment. Casualised contracts arebecoming more commonplace, inequality isendemic, and workloads are rising tounachievable levels. It is no wonder thatmany on the left, and in the centre as well,want the union to take action to defend oureducation service and to protect members’working lives and living standards.

continued on back page

continued from front pageIn these circumstances UCU cannothope to be a haven of prosperity whileothers are suffering. And, indeed, such ahaven we are not. Despite strenuousefforts by activists, branches, regionsand head office, our membership too isfalling. The only surprise is that it is notdropping more rapidly. Out of a totalfigure of approximately 115,000, theannual attrition rate has increased toaround 15,000. Since we have neverrecruited more than 13,000 in any year,we are experiencing net losses, year onyear.Of course, we can’t simply accept thatas a done deal and just wring our handsabout it. We have to redouble ourrecruitment efforts. But nor can weignore the problem, or base our strategyon voluntaristic recruitment targets andputting up subscriptions to plug the gap.This is gambling with the union’s future– and the odds are pretty pretty long.The union will not be forever unless we

make it so by tackling the problem now.As Charles Dickens has Mr Micawbersay: “Annual income twenty pounds,annual expenditure nineteen pounds,nineteen shillings and six pence, resulthappiness. Annual income twentypounds, annual expenditure twentypounds ought and six, result misery." Real misery faces us unless we dealpromptly with this financial crisis. Everydelay increases the risk of thecertification officer being brought in,property sold off at knock-down pricesand swathes of staff sacked – if the unionsurvives at all. What price our democratic structuresthen? The NEC has come up with veryreasonable cost-saving proposals, likereducing committee sizes and frequencyof meetings, as well as temporarilyreducing the length of Annual Congress.All of these are worthy of support. Butsavings of the required magnitude willonly be achieved by reducing thestaffing bill, since that dominates

expenditure overall. It is thereforeessential that the 2013-14 Budget and2014-15 Indicative Budgets are passedwithout qualification, and that UCUworks with our staff union to secure thenecessary reductions on a voluntarybasis. That will mean some restructuring tomaintain the maximum effectiveness,but arguably that should already havebeen done a few years ago, before theproblem got so acute. Lessons need to be learned: this time,lay officers of the union must be putcentre stage in any restructuringproposals.With pessimism of the intellect, butoptimism of the will – as AntonioGramsci said – we shall help UCU toovercome this crisis and in the processbuild a stronger union.

Martin Levy works at NorthumbriaUniversity Branch and is an NECmember of UCU H

The Tory-LibDem government is attacking the living standards anddemocratic rights of workers and theirfamilies on a scale not seen in Britain since the 1930s.

It is an integrated, ruling class offensive toprotect and expand big business profits.Resistance to this attack on incomes, jobs,public services and trade unionism has beensporadic, fragmented and defensive.

Industrial responses alone will not defeatsuch an all- round political offensive. Unity ofaction and purpose is desperately required inand around the labour movement.

The Call to the Labour Movement by theCommunist Party makes a series of practicalproposals for action that can gve shape anddirection to our resistance.

Unite against privatisation andausterity For unity to become a reality,trade unions, trades union councils, anti-cutscampaigners, socialists, Labour Party activistsand progressives must work together on thebroadest, most inclusive basis.

All who oppose the austerity andprivatisation programme of this Tory-LibDem government should be welcome inanti-cuts campaigning. The focus ofopposition must be on the currentgovernment and its policies.

We need to build durable militantmovements of ordinary people in localcommunities throughout Britain.

This will help ensure that a strategy ofrolling, coordinated and generalised strikeaction by the trade unions puts the maximumpressure on the government.

The People's Assembly Against Austerityon June 22 can play an invaluable role inbuilding and uniting the resistance and winningpeople to an alternative.

Rally support for the People's CharterPolicies for progressive taxation, economicplanning, public ownership, public investmentand an independent foreign policy for Britaincan safeguard public services, jobs, livingstandards, our environment and peace.

Supported by the TUC, the TUCWomen's and Trades Councils conferences,the Scottish and Welsh TUCs and manyindividual trade unions and local trades unioncouncils, the People's Charter provides thebasis for an alternative economic and politicalstrategy that puts the millions before themillionaires.

Every labour movement organisationshould affiliate to the People's Charter andhelp promote it.

Campaign for Trade Union FreedomIndustrial action by trade unions to defendjobs, incomes and public services needs to becoordinated and generalised as widely aspossible, with every effort made to securepopular support.

The Tory-LibDem government, employersand the courts are now opening a new frontof class warfare against trade union rights andfacilities.

Based on the trade union movement, theCampaign for Trade Union Freedom provides

The future for UCU

A Call to the Labour Movement

The proposal to reduce the size of theNEC should not be seen as arisingfrom the need for UCU to reduceexpenditure. The excessive size ofthe committee and its consequentinability to act effectively have beenclear since the merger that createdUCU. The NEC is simply too large toallow for proper discussion anddecision-making.

The savings that would result from areduction in the size of the NEC should beseen as an additional benefit, while the realtarget is to improve the democratic andrepresentative structures of the union. Theproblem that we face is: how can we makethe NEC smaller, without reducing therepresentation of the equality strands and ofthe employment special interest groups as aproportion of the new committee?

The Seven Proposals: None of the models is perfect, but most arejust impossible. Let us consider each in turnstarting with those from the Commission

Example A: While this model wouldproduce a smaller NEC, it relies uponelection from single member constituencies.Where only one is elected, it is difficult toensure the adequate representation ofwomen and other under-representedgroups in the elected body.

Example B: No regional elections forHE in England. This is against the customsof ex- NATFHE members. Most equalitystrands would be represented by only oneperson, as would most of the employmentspecial interest groups. There is no allocatedseat for Academic Related staff. This wouldcut the size of the NEC but there may beproblems with representation.

Example C: The size of the NEC wouldnot be cut much but the balance betweenthose elected from regional, national andUK-wide constituencies appears reasonableand the equality and special interest groupshave adequate representation in this model.

Example D: This would reduce the NECby only one member. Very few memberswould be elected on a UK-wide basis.

Example E: Leaves the NEC as it is. The NEC sub-committee produced two

possible models: NEC1: May seem desirable to some

but is unlikely to succeed as it ignoresregions.

NEC2: Too many single memberconstituencies to allow for reasonablerepresentation of either equality oremployment interest groups, although it hasa number of ‘bolt-on’ additional women’sseats.

Where multi-member constituenciesappear in this plan, they are too large to beuseful. However, this could be the basis fora reform of the NEC but it would require agood deal of thought and work.

We should support motion 33, in orderto give Congress a choice but it would notbe a serious blow if 33 were to fall and 34were to pass. Overall, Option C appears tobe the best that we can expect to succeedat Congress and we would be foolish toexpend much political capital fighting forlosing positions. H

the focus for a united response to this anti-trade union drive in the interests of workingpeople and their families.

Promote the Charter for Women Aslow-paid and public sector workers, loneparents, carers and service users, women arebeing hit particularly hard by austerity andprivatisation measures. The Charter forWomen, supported by the TUC Women’sConference, many trade unions and theNational Assembly of Women, proposespolicies to win genuine equality at work, inthe labour movement and in society as awhole.

Solidarity against EU austerity andprivatisation The Tories, UKIP andsections of the big business media fullysupport EU- wide attacks on people's livingstandards and public services. But they wantto protect the City of London casino and itsUS backers even from feeble EU regulation.

For the labour movement, the keydemand must be to restore to parliament inBritain the power to protect jobs andindustries, to take the utilities and transportback into public ownership and ensure thatthey are run in the public interest.

We also need to support workers acrossEurope who are fighting for these powers,against the EU and its Constitutional Treatycommitment to 'an open market economywith free competition' (Article 98).

Oppose militarism and war Britain'sinvolvement in an endless series of wars toprotect British and US big business interests isnot protecting democracy or human rightshere or abroad. Military spending should bereduced to average European levels anddiverted into civilian production.

Britain's nuclear weapons should bescrapped and the subservient military alliancewith the US ended.

Bring down the unelected Tory-LibDem coalition This regime wascobbled together at the behest of Torypaymasters in the City of London. Nobodyvoted for a coalition. Most people voted forparties (including the LibDems) that claimedto oppose the current austerity andprivatisation policies.

Putting an end to this government beforeit does even more damage to our society is ademocratic duty.

The only realistic alternative to the Tory-LibDems is a Labour government, whichunderlines the immediate need to fight forLabour policies that serve the mass of thepeople.

We urge all who broadly support this Callto the Labour Movement to win support for itspositions throughout the labour andprogressive movements. Use it to unite andignite opposition to the Tory- LibDemgovernment around the positive alternative.Executive CommitteeCommunist Party May 1, 2013 H

Proposals for NEC Reform

Communists in theUCU support, andactively participate in,UCU IndependentBroad Left (IBL) and itsbulletin Broadcast.

But IBL is by definitionindependent of anypolitical party, whilethis edition of Unity!reflects the perspectiveof communists in UCU.

by David Goode

Down the years, the European Unionhas spearheaded the global drive forderegulation and privatisation,introducing measures that day-in andday-out translate into all the evils ofausterity: massive job losses; more andmore precarious employment;poverty wages; stress-filled and unsafeworkplaces; declining services intransport, energy, communications,health, local government, and –crucially for us in UCU – education,which is now under daily attack frompredatory businesses looking toprivatise and commodify the publicgood we hold dear.Clearly then, Motion 49, ‘Equality

and Europe’, from the NationalExecutive Committee, should have noplace on our agenda, with its claim thatworkers are better off as a result of EUmembership and its call to “campaignvigorously on the benefit of remainingin EU membership”. This motion camefrom the Equality Committee and wentthrough the NEC without any discussionand under severe pressure of business.The labour movement should beleading the fight against the corrupt, bigbusiness EU - not leaving it to UKIPcharlatans, who ride the EU gravy trainand whose main interest is to defend thecorrupt, big business City of London.

The real campaignWhat we should be campaigningvigorously for is not solidarity with bigbusiness, but solidarity with theworkers of Britain, Ireland, Greece,Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere,and this can only mean opposing theanti-democratic and neoliberal treatiesof the EU, not defending them nor –even more perversely – being

pathetically, even evangelically, gratefulfor them.Britain’s trade unions should beexposing the anti-working class policiesand institutions of the European Union,not confusing the European Court andConvention on Human Rights with theanti-labour EU Court of Justice, norbrandishing the feeble Working TimeDirective as a fig-leaf for the EU ofausterity, privatisation, massimpoverishment, and despair.We should be campaigning for thepolicies in the People’s Charter - publicownership, economic sustainability,progressive taxation and peace - againstthe Tory-led regime, UKIP, the EU, theUS and Nato.This will show people thatthere is a real alternative to thecommon big business agenda of theEuro-separatists, the Eurosceptics andthe Euro-fanatics.

Amendment 49A.1There is a strong case for votingagainst motion 49 outright. However,Eastern & Home Counties RegionalCommittee has tabled a simpleamendment, to delete the phrase “onthe benefit of remaining in EuropeanUnion membership”. At the very least, delegates are urgedto support this amendment, whichdraws a clear line between “the benefitof remaining in EU membership” and“to safeguard our already diminishingequality and employment rights”, twomatters which are mutually exclusive.If the amendment is rejected, thenplease reject the motion outright. If theamendment passes, then vote on theamended motion as you see fit.

David Goode works at CambridgeUniversity and is an NEC member ofUCUH

The EU is not the education workers’ friend

Today and every day Keep up to date with theworking class movement

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk

COMMUNIST REVIEW Number 67 Spring2013 £2.50H Mau Mau – the revolutionary force fromKenya by Shiraz DurraniH Recovering and reaffirming liberationpolitics by Jeremy CroninH Contradictory rulings from two European’courts by Keith BarlowH ‘Educating the Educators’ by KevinDonnelly

Available at UCU Congress or orderonline through ‘Shop’ atwww.communist-party.org.uk

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by Bill Greenshields

Trade unions in the forefront ofresistance to government policies, andothers which are moving to thatposition, have united with anti-cutsgroups, the Coalition of Resistance,the People’s Charter and others toorganise the People’s AssemblyAgainst Austerity.

Enthusiasm for the June 22 Assembly isreflected in the fact that many towns andcities are seeing huge preparatoryconferences and rallies occurring in the runup.

The intention of the huge event inWestminster is to bring together those forcesthat can build a movement of oppositionbroad and powerful enough to mobilisemillions of people against the Tory-LibDemgovernment, to demonstrate that there is nonecessity for any ‘austerity’, unemploymentor privatisation, and to promote ‘thealternative’ – substantially described in thePeople’s Charter.

Such a positive movement – withorganised workers of the trade unionmovement at its heart, and reaching downdeep into local communities - is vital if publicsupport is to be won and organised forsustained resistance to austerity andprivatisation, and to help create theconditions for successful widespread

industrial action for working class and popularinterests against those of big business and theCity of London.

Will all those taking part agree on everydot and comma about the way forward, theobjectives, tactics and strategy? Of coursenot. If they do, they won’t represent the fullvariety and complexity of views within theworking class and peoples of Britain.

But the aim of the Assembly will be tobuild and maintain a radical consensus andunity through a real struggle of ideas – andany individuals or little political sects wishingto continue the old schisms and small-groupbattles that have dogged us in the past willnot be very welcome! Only by enthusiasticallyseizing the opportunity of working in unity todevelop a broad, democratic movement willwe maximise the chance of success. Thosewho can’t accept this will be seen, rightly, asdoing the ConDem’s work for them.

The People's Assembly now in mid-Mayhas 2000+ delegates registered from all overBritain, and with Frances O’Grady lined up tospeak for the TUC, all the major unions, andmany trades councils are in the process ofregistering large numbers of delegates.

Community organisations and campaigninggroups are already well represented, manyencouraged by fast growing local campaigns;particularly against the bedroom tax and itsresultant evictions, and in the defence of theirhospitals and the NHS as a whole. And the

direct action activism of movements such asOccupy! and UK Uncut is both beingrevitalised by the prospect of the Assembly,and in turn is bringing new life toorganisations that have been around a lotlonger, and maybe have become a bit stuck intheir ways.

Every day brings more numbers, andorganisers have the welcome problem offinding physical and political space foreveryone to participate as fully as possible.

It is up to all of us whether the Assemblywill help generate the kind of movementrequired, one which reaches every town, cityand community, drawing in people whocurrently don’t think of themselves as'activists’ or even as 'political'. In particular, ithas to be a movement that finds a place notonly for organised workers, but for those inprecarious work, for those in self-employment, for small business people, forthe unemployed, pensioners, students, carersand for people of every ethnic origin andsexual orientation – in fact, for everyoneunder the cosh of big business and its Toryand LibDem puppets.

What a different political scene willdevelop as local People’s Assemblies emergeacross Britain, and as we look forward tofurther national meetings and events, with agrowing confidence both strengthening ourmovement and also dividing and underminingthe strength of those who work against us.

Around this growing movement isincreasingly heard the sentiment that we arenow ‘out to win, not simply protest’, and weall know that will mean a direct challenge tothe unelected and illegitimate ConDemCoalition’s right to continue in office. June’sAssembly will produce the maximum possibleagreement on how to integrate unions’bolder, united and increasingly generalisedaction with stronger, broad-based localcommunity movements of resistance in astrategy to defeat the Tory-led regime, and tofight - both in and outside parliament - for areal ‘people’s alternative’.

Bill Greenshields is chair of the CommunistParty and trade union officer for the People’sCharter H

Communists at UCU Congress 2013urge full support for CompositeMotion 12, ‘Support for People’sAssembly’

Against austerity

by Susan Michie

As UCU Congress meets, there hasbeen no let-up in the Coalition’s multi-faceted attack on colleges, universitiesand – of course – schools. UCU’scampaigns against privatisation andfor more public funding are necessaryand good, but they are not enough.

We can’t be content simply to defendthe status quo ante – the ruling class’sattack is too all-encompassing and toofar-reaching. We have to understandwhat is happening to education andwhy. We also have to begin to rebuildour ideas of what education is for andwhat it can do.The Communist Party’s EducationCommission has published a newpamphlet, intended to be a contributionto this debate within the educationunions and the wider labour movement.Education for the People (£2 from theCommunist Party) looks at thedevelopment of capitalism and the classrelations that made possible both theperiods of progressive advance in the20th century, and the great neoliberalcounterattack that has culminated in thedisastrous Coalition government. The pamphlet argues that savingeducation can’t mean just arguing formore money or a return to the old days.Instead, we have to see and reconstructeducation as an integral part of analternative economic and politicalstrategy. That means giving people theskills and research infrastructure tosupport a new industrial base, but it alsomeans equipping our people to beactive, questioning and committeddemocratic citizens. Crucially, Education for the Peopleidentifies what would be needed to

renew the progressive advance. Thepamphlet argues that new local andnational alliances must be built, led bythe labour movement but mobilisingbroader communities of working people.These alliances should target the bigbusinesses that want to profiteer fromeducation. We must pose an alternativemodel of a democratised educationsystem built on common-sense ideasstill current in our society – the ideas ofeducation as a democratic right and ademocratic tool, articulated within ademocratic system. This is a criticaltime in which we must start to build thewidest possible unity around analternative vision of education. TheCommunist Party offers Education forthe People as a contribution to buildingthis alternative. Copies will be availableat UCU Congress.

Susan Michie works at UCL and is anNEC member of UCU H

I want to join the Communist Party oPlease send me more information o

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return to CPB Ruskin House 23 Coombe Road Croydon CR0 1BD(or hand to a communist at the conference, you know who they are)You can also apply online at www.communist-party.org.uk

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Education for the peoplecontinued from front pageIn HE the pay offer represents another

real-terms pay cut. There is no doubt thatthe employers can afford more and can domore than describe the phenomenon ofinequality; they could actually work with theunion to tackle it. In FE, the pay offer isinsulting and, again, the employers want toattack pay progression through the scales. Ineach sector, the paucity of the gains, anddiverging agenda on the employers’ side,means that there is considerable strain onnational bargaining machinery.

Industrial action ballots play a critical role inmobilising members to tackle the employers.UCU has shown a willingness to organisenational disputes in such a way as to enablemembers to take part in wider strugglesagainst the government. At last September’sTUC, the UCU delegation voted for thesuccessful resolution, which asked the tradeunion movement to take coordinated actionwhere possible and to consider thepracticalities of a general strike. It is rightthat UCU continues to play a part in anyattempts by the movement as a whole.

But we should not get carried away byheady rhetoric, such as we are likely to hearover the next few days. Delegates shouldexercise caution before backing calls forindustrial action ballots where they are notcertain they can deliver on the ground.Members are demonstrably willing to takeaction against direct threats from their ownemployer but less convinced over nationaldisputes. This is not a call for passivity but forsober judgement and solid preparation. Wecannot afford to lose national industrialaction ballots, and so must work patiently tobuild the fighting confidence necessary tolaunch a plausible counter-attack against theemployers. H

progressive sites

http://21centurymanifesto.wordpress.comhttp://revolting-europe.comhttp://solidnet.comhttp://morningstaronline.co.ukhttp://classonline.org.ukhttp://www.ier.org.uk