To start the NEC meeting, Kath Owen, Vice President welcomed us all to the meeting from the Conference centre on the 9th floor of the UNISON centre in London. This was a hybrid meeting with most logged on at home or wherever based. Christina McAnea, General Secretary and other senior officers and committee chairs were in the UNISON centre.
Kath
explained that she wished to bring a series of resolutions to the NEC meeting
which had been circulated to all NEC members the previous weekend. Legal advice
from the Executive office had also been circulated to members. (The latter
about an hour before this meeting.) NEC members were reminded they were elected
by their constituent members. The resolutions highlighted issues that had been
encountered by the Presidential team since they had come into office and Kath
stated NEC members had a right to have their say on the motions. We would need
a record of who has been able to vote.
An
officer stated that the legal advice sought and distributed just prior to the
meeting was of the view that 4 of the 6 motions breached the existing rule book
and would need rule changes to National Delegate Conference next year. Kath
stated that the view of the Presidential team was that the resolutions
concerned interpretation of existing rule, not creating new rules. The
interpretation of rule was the NEC role in between conferences, as also set out
in the rulebook.
A
point of order was raised asking could we have a vote on whether the motions
could be heard and could this be a roll call vote. The roll call vote was taken
on whether to hear the motions and the result was:
For
37, Against 26, 0 abstentions.
Andrea
Egan, Vice President introduced the motions.
Andrea
reminded us that under Rule 2.1 management and control of the union between National
Delegate Conference is vested in the NEC with full power and authority to act
on behalf of the union in every respect and for every purpose falling within objects
of the union and this is a member-led union where the role of staff is to carry
out lawful instructions of the NEC. The motions are designed to assist in ensuring
decisions of the NEC and those decisions where the NEC has delegated its powers
are carried out efficiently and promptly.
Resolution
1 Pursuant to Rules D.2.1, D.2.8, and D.2.11.9 the NEC resolves to convene
every other month and that the current cycle of Committee meetings will
continue as at present but with each Committee reporting to the next NEC
meeting.
An
NEC member seconded the resolution stating more meetings would help as we have significantly
overrun and run out of time at NEC meetings very often and this causes problems
for disabled NEC members, those with caring commitments and when NEC members
need to return to work. It would also give us more opportunity to mobilise and
campaign effectively for our members. The NEC member noted that at the July 14
2021 NEC meeting we were told a simple motion setting the date of the next NEC
meeting was unlawful but now the external legal advice sought by the Executive
office agreed this was lawful, demonstrating how significantly legal advice can
vary and change.
For
44, Against 20, 2 abstentions.
Resolution 2 Pursuant to Rules D.2.1 and
D.2.9 the NEC appoints a Committee consisting of the President and
Vice-Presidents (the quorum for which shall be two) to be known as ‘the
Presidential Team’ to which it delegates, between meetings of the NEC, the
NEC’s powers (including the power to direct the General Secretary from time to
time as may be necessary pursuant to Rules D.2.13.1 and E.3.1) other than
powers it has delegated to the Development and Organisation Committee. The
Presidential Team shall seek the endorsement of the next NEC meeting for any
such exercise of its delegated powers.
An NEC member outlined arguments for in
seconding the motion: The Presidential Team effectively acts as a committee,
but this is not properly codified; there are no clear guidelines or boundaries
to work within; all powers are based on precedent, not all of which is clear to
lay members or has an obvious rationale; the NEC needs clarity on what powers
it is delegating to its Presidential Team and requires it to report back on
decisions taken.
For
38, Against 26, 0 abstentions.
Resolution
3: Pursuant to Rule D.2.1, D2.9 and D.2.11.15 the NEC directs the
Presidential Team to instruct (through the Union’s legal department or such
other solicitor as the Presidential Team thinks fit) counsel of the
Presidential Team’s choice, at such a time and in such terms as the
Presidential Team consider appropriate, to advise the NEC on any matter which
the Presidential Team consider warrants such advice.
An
NEC member spoke whilst seconding the motion: Legal opinion is always open to
interpretation. The Motion explicitly argues to go through the legal department,
but gives the NEC, as the client, the right to choose in regard to which
external counsel is used.
For
38, Against 26, Abstention 0.
Resolution
4 Pursuant to Rules D.2.1, D.2.9 and the preamble to Schedule D, the NEC
delegates to its Development and Organisation Committee all its powers in
relation to disciplinary matters which are subject to Rule C.7.4, Rule I and
Schedule D. That Committee shall seek the endorsement of the next NEC meeting
for any such exercise of its delegated powers.
An NEC member seconded the motion and stated
that if we passed this resolution we would have codified and clarified what the
situation is, which is all the motion seeks to do.
For 38, Against 22, Abstentions 3.
Resolution 5 Pursuant to Rule A.2, D.2.1,
D.2.11.1, D.2.11.2, D.2.11.3 and Rule C.7.4, the NEC rules that Rule C.7.4
gives jurisdiction to the NEC (and the Development and Organisation Committee
exercising its delegated powers) the duty to consider the suspension of any
member or branch suspended for more than 4 weeks where such suspension has not
been considered by the NEC or the Development and Organisation Committee in the
last 4 weeks and, as it thinks fit, remove or continue the suspension.
An NEC member stated in seconding the motion there
was insufficient lay oversight of the process after a suspension has been
approved. It can then go out of view. It is important there are checks and
balances processes can drag on and we don’t want a suspension to become a
sanction. The motion asks for a review every 4 weeks.
Another NEC member said this is not about
whether people should or should not be suspended it is if people are suspended
should that suspension be reviewed. No one should be on an indefinite
suspension without review. There are currently no checks and balances and often
cases have dragged on for years. We want a reasonable process - no one would
sign up to a process where suspensions were not reviewed. Welfare support to
suspended members is non-existent and should be reviewed.
For 36, Against 26, Abstentions 0.
Resolution 6 Pursuant to Rules C.2.4,
C.7.1.1, D.2.1 and D.2.2.4, the NEC directs that any member holding elected
office within the Union or holding an elected seat on a Committee of the Union
who is dismissed by their employer
shall, on notifying the General Secretary within one month of such dismissal,
continue to be a member of the union from the date of dismissal until such time
as the NEC decides otherwise or the member resigns from the union, and whilst
such a member shall be entitled to hold office in the union and, in particular,
shall continue to hold every office and sit on every Committee in the union to
which they have been elected or appointed for the remainder of the term of such
office or seat, unless and until the NEC decides otherwise or the member
resigns from such office or seat.
An NEC member seconded the resolution: We are
a union that supports its activists should they go through a dismissal process.
We want elected union officers and committee members to know this so we will
need to communicate this new process to activists so they both understand the
process and know that as a union, we have their back, particularly where they
may be victimised by their employer. If a dismissal turns out to be fair, the
membership can be terminated as normal. The motion put some process around
rules already in place that allow the NEC to continue membership of dismissed
members as it wishes. Any member dismissed could write to ask for their
membership to be continued, which would then be reviewed at the next NEC
meeting and could be terminated as normal if the NEC so desired.
For
35, Against 26, Abstentions 1.
The
Vice-President thanked all for contributing and voting and asked the legal
department to instruct Lord Hendy QC, the UK’s leading QC on Trade union law, to
advise in writing on the 6 motions. If anything was found to be unconstitutional,
motions could be nullified.
An
Officer stated any instruction issued to staff based upon an unlawful resolution
is not a legitimate instruction. The member of staff can decide not to comply
without any disciplinary sanction. The Vice-Presidents agreed with this
proposition but re-stated their view that the motions passed were lawful.
General Secretary report
Christina
McAnea relayed that we had been trying to get YES votes in various pay ballots.
A good result at the University of Dundee against detrimental changes to their
pension scheme. Difficulty of getting greater than 50% turnout in consultative
and statutory ballots was referred to. We have been looking at what do we need
to be doing to improve turnout in ballots.
Black
History month – a lot of work is underway, a priority for us in terms of the
comms sent to members.
Health
conference in September. This was thought to go very well. Sadly, we have lost
Tam Waterson of UNISON Scotland who died, a big loss to the union.
Key
focus of the next period will be what we do on Climate Change. There was COP26
at the start of November. Branches are encouraged to do something during COP26
and ensure a big Trade Union presence on protests. There would be regional
protests.
The
Chair of PDCC (Policy, Developments and Campaigns Committee NEC committee) Tony
Wright read out a statement on COP26:
UNISON NEC fully supports the
call for a UK trade union mobilisation to join the Day of Action for Climate
Justice on the 6th November 2021 in Glasgow and other UK key cities and
regions. UNISON was proudly one of the first trade unions to support the work
of the COP26 Coalition. UNISON will work side by side with the Coalition to
mobilise our members and to get workers voices heard so that governments hear
loudly and clearly our demand for a just transition and public ownership to
deliver a fair and just Climate Emergency response in solidarity with the
Global South.
The
Chair of Finance Dan Sartin raised the Liverpool conference centre decision to
hold an Arms Fair there that has led to calls to boycott and discussions were
starting to explore finding alternative venues. Disabled members conference
will go ahead because it is imminent, but we will look at the branch and financial
impact of not using the Liverpool conference centre and whether it has broken the
ethical supplier policy. The General Secretary has been asked by the Finance
Committee to intervene with the centre to make clear we will stop using it asap
if they do not change course. Dan, as the Chair of the Finance Committee, was due
to get a report from officers by the end of the week.
Labour
Party Conference – An NEC member raised that many NEC members have been
contacted by members complaining about UNISON’s vote on Labour Party rule
changes, particularly the process for electing the leader, whereby they will
now need 20% of Labour MPs to get on the ballot paper. Lots of Labour policies
under the Starmer leadership are no longer UNISON policies, the delegate felt.
The response given by an Assistant General Secretary was that the full
delegation had a discussion and voted to support the package. A full report
will go to the National Labour Link Committee.
A
question about the makeup of the Branch Resources Review (BRR) implementation team
that now has 3 regional convenors on it, and not all 12 convenors as representation.
A request was made by one NEC delegate that all 12 Regions are represented. The
Presidential team had received the correspondence from the delegate and has looked
at the make-up of the team: we cannot meet everyone’s demands but the BRR will
be a regular standing item on the NEC agenda, so progress can be tracked.
/NEC
Report Ends
