Nominations for the Labour Link Committee of the public services union Unison close on 14 July, and voting will be 7 September to 13 October.
Labour Link works directly within the Labour Party and should take Unison’s policies into the party. In reality, historically, Unison has failed to push members’ priorities in the Labour Party.
These elections come at an important time, just after the right wing in Unison have lost control of the National Executive Committee (NEC) for the first time ever. In principle the newly elected leftwing majority on the NEC can provide up to twelve of the twenty-three voting members of the Unison National Labour Link Committee.
We want to win a Labour government based on mass working-class mobilisation and accountable to the labour movement — a government which serves our class as the Tories in power have served the rich, and reshapes society in the interests of people, not profit. Labour is moving to the right at a time we most a fightback. Unison must defend the left wing policies of 2017-2019 whilst fighting for policies to pandemic-proof society through investment and wealth redistribution.
Covid-19 has shown the public how crucial public sector workers are, our union must be bold and confident in its political demands and campaigns.
These should include:
• a nationalised and well paid social care service
• abolish all anti union laws
• pay rises across public services
• an end to austerity, with funding returned to 2010 levels.
