Labour candidates on lookout for alternative funding

So the GMB union is to cut its funding to the Labour party, bizarrely it appears because they disagree with giving their members a right to choose whether or not they actually want to join the Labour party rather than being affiliated automatically. 

Credit should go to Ed Miliband for this rare demonstration of common sense and fairness. Presumably the GMB are afraid that a substantial number will chose not to join and this will impact on their ability to dictate which Labour candidates should be selected and hence diminish their influence.

The move if carried through will be costly for the party as a whole, and will also mean individual elected Labour members will have to look elsewhere for funding – heaven forbid they may even have to fund their own campaigns!

Pontypridd AM Mick Antoniw for example could find himself at a few more fundraisers.  His record of interest at the Assembly states that he received £5000 from the GB for election expenses.  It also states he has received a little over £15000 in gifts and hospitality form the GMB and Unite unions.

I have in the past ranted on numerous occasions about the incestuous relationship between the Labour party and the unions.  It is undemocratic.  Unions should be there to represent the interests of their workforce and not to play politics and interfere in the democratic process.

 

 

Whose side are the unions on?

As news comes that negotiations over public sector pensions edge closer to agreement  BBC political editor Nick Robinson asks a very pertinent question – what did the strikes actually achieve?

“The Treasury has given no more money since the strikes. However the offer made before - on 22nd November - was, I'm told, rather more generous than many realised - not least those who went out on strike.”

What?  Could it be that union leaders bent the truth a little?  Could they have exaggerated the situation just a touch?  Maybe to flex their muscles a bit, stop them becoming atrophied.  Or just to remind the public at large (most of whom do not belong to unions let alone public service unions) that they exist?

Or could it have been – perish the thought – a political move by union leaders who rely on Labour as much as Labour rely on them?

Surely in this season of goodwill it would be churlish to entertain such thoughts.

Circle of Labour Life

As regular readers of my ramblings and rantings (if indeed there are any) know one of the things that really riles me is the Labour party’s tie in with the Unions. 

So I was not the least bit surprised to read in today’s Western Mail that

“The Government has given £2m of public money to Labour- donating trade unions since 2008, it was revealed in a written answer to the Tories from Finance Minister Jane Hutt.

They have come under two main initiatives, the Wales Development Fund for Unions, which is aimed at developing policy-making processes, and the Wales Union Learning Fund, which develops learning……..

In total, the Welsh Government has given £2.4m to 15 trade unions over the past three years, including £225,000 to the union Community, which earlier this year bolstered Labour’s Assembly election campaign by making donations to marginal constituencies.”

Now as I have said I am not against Unions – workers rights should be protected and they have a right to representation against their employers.  What does bother me is the blatant political involvement.

This has been particularly obvious in the case of current Pontypridd AM Mick Antoniw.

He was / is (?) a Director of Thompsons solicitors.  Their part in the miners’ compensation scandal was well documented prior to the Assembly election.  Although despite the evidence being very clear he did his best to deny any involvement.  He even went as far as to threaten to sue when I included the story in our leaflets – an empty threat, you cannot sue someone for stating what is true and what can be proven,

The facts were that Thompsons solicitors were reported in several notable legal publications as having been severely reprimanded for their handling of miners’ compensation claims by their regulatory body. Money was reportedly taken from the amount of compensation miners received to pay the Unions an ‘administration fee.’ Thompson’s solicitors donated money to the Labour Party, and directly or indirectly to Antoniw’s campaign

But there is more.  When Rhondda Cynon Taff started their Equal Pay negotiations they ran into a bit of trouble when some employees refused to take the settlement offered.   An email from the Chief Executive to  Welsh Liberal Democrat Cllr Mike Powell in July 2010 revealed that 

“The current position in respect of the settlement of Equal Pay claims is as follows:-

 3,859 claims have been settled, at a total cost of £13,104,216.

 222 claims remain outstanding.  These claims have been lodged at Employment Tribunal.”

Who was acting for the employees?  None other than Thompson’s solicitors. So the Labour run Council failed to settle claims for its workforce and employed a Labour leaning firm of solicitors to represent its own employees against the Council.  That firm then donated money to the Labour election campaign, benefitting Antoniw.

You couldn’t make it up

Where’s the talk of savage cuts now then?

Yet another example of the Unions overwhelming political bias.  The Western Mail today reports that the Welsh Government may close some of its regional offices with a possible loss of up to 400 jobs.

How does the PVS react?  Are they threatening to take to the streets, are they raging against the savage cuts being imposed by Labour? Of course not. Instead Peter Harris who is PCS Wales Secretary and the lead negotiator with the Welsh Government said

“I welcome the Welsh Government’s commitment to continue to provide a dispersed presence across Wales. The opening of offices in Merthyr, Aberystwyth and Llandudno Junction were supported by the unions and helped devolve work from Cardiff. The movement of staff to these locations has been underpinned by the principles of no unwelcome compulsory redundancies or enforced transfers.

“Further estate rationalisation should proceed in the same way. We are not opposing any change and indeed a number of small offices have already been merged or closed.”

I think I would feel severely under-changed if I were a member of theirs working in one of these locations.  He went on to say:

“unwelcome compulsory redundancies could result in a dispute with the Welsh Government. Despite the financial squeeze, however, I believe a dispute can be avoided if there is a willingness to protect jobs and services in rural areas.”

State of the Union

I used to be pretty non-committal with regard to Unions – the only one I have ever belonged to is the Students Union – and I generally have a fairly ‘do-as-you-please’ attitude to people, a liberal attitude one may say!

I’ve never been happy about their role as bed fellows to and the driving force behind the Labour Party believing that trade unions should be non-political, and that if large groups of people want to move this country in a particular political direction then they should do it under their own banner.  But it has been little more than a mild annoyance.

Lately that is turning into an anger that is bordering on the irrational.  The mere mention of the word Union is likely to set me off on a rant of significant proportions.  Indeed I have been moved to write to the local press on several occasions lately on the subject of Unions and particularly the relationship of the Labour AM for Pontypridd with said Unions!

Just to clarify my position, I am not against trade unions per se - I am all for advocacy for workers. However, less than 30% of workers actually belong to a trade union, and their influence is in my view unreasonable.

So what has caused my latest episode of angst? Well it is the story today on the BBC which reports ‘Unions criticise plan to cut school trip red tape’

Now I must admit I am not a huge fan of Education Secretary Michael Gove, I think some of his ideas are bonkers to put it mildly. But his plans to cut the red tape involved in organising schools trips sounds to me like an excellent idea.  No more filling in of hundreds of forms and writing of unnecessary risk assessment plans to go on a picnic down the local park (in England!).

But are the teaching unions happy?  No of course not – although no doubt if Leighton announced a similar plan here they would kiss his feet (or somewhere) and hail him a hero.

At present guidelines on the organising of school trips run to 150 pages.  How ridiculous is that?  When I was in school, admittedly a few years ago now, we used to go on school trips – we managed to get through them without any loss of life or limb, or indeed of children.  They were fun.

Now it is so much hassle to take children out of school that often teachers are put off by it.  Many teachers would probably agree that the red tape needs to be cut down.  The Unions are as usual just making political points.

Is he taking the Mick? (letter to the press)

Pontypridd’s newly elected AM Mick Antoniw is obviously keen to keep his close association with the unions going and to be seen to be supportive of their grievances.  Hence his ‘Statement of Opinion’ tabled at the Assembly which reads as follows:

“This Assembly puts on record its recognition of the hard and dedicated work of our public sector workers and recognises the anger felt by many at the serious attack on their living standards arising from measures being taken by the UK Government which will result in reduced terms and conditions of employment and pension provision…”

He will no doubt then be coming out and stating his unequivocal disgust at the way in which RCT Council employees have been treated by his own Labour party colleagues?  Defending the rights of those lower paid employees who will see their living standards fall not because of any actions of the UK Government but because of the Labour administration here.

You can’t have it both ways Mick – can’t have the power and not take the responsibility.  How many times has it got to be said?  The Labour party were in Government at Westminster for 13 years, they have been in power in Cardiff Bay since 1999 alone or in coalition.  They are running RCT Council. Yet whose fault is everything?  Of course, it is the fault of the Westminster coalition.

Take a look around Mick, talk to some of your union friends, see just how much anger there is locally about changes in terms and conditions on your own territory. Then ask yourself who caused it.

Karen Roberts

Unions should operate in the real world

Here we go again, the unions jumping up and down in feigned righteous indignation over the proposals to change public sector pensions

That will of course be the same unions who put the Labour party into power and watched and even applauded whilst they messed up so completely.

Could somebody please tell me why public sector employees should be protected over and about anyone in the private sector?  Just what is so special about them? Shouldn't they take their fair share of the pain?  After all they have been more than willing to take advantage of the benefits over the years.

The NUT ballot showed, according to their General Secretary, just how much anger there is amongst teachers. Yet the figures  do not quite show that do they?

 “Results from the NUT's ballot show that 92% were in favour of strike action. Turnout was 40% among state school members of the union and 27% among private school members”

“Some 83% of ATL members voted to strike, and overall turnout for the ballot was 35%”

Most of them it seems were not even bothered enough to vote. Could there be just a hint of politicising going on here?