Statement on NEC Committee meetings

On Wednesday evening [26 January], UNISON’s General Secretary unilaterally issued an instruction to postpone important NEC Committee meetings without the agreement of the elected chairs of those committees. The General Secretary has no power under the UNISON Rulebook to unilaterally stop meetings; this power resides with the elected NEC (Rule D.2.11.9).

The General Secretary instructed UNISON staff not to attend these meetings. Prior to this, an Assistant General Secretary had instructed staff servicing the Finance and Resource Management Committee to leave their duties during the meeting.

This was due to decisions taken by that Committee, which sought to: 1) add accountability to decisions around staff using UNISON funds for personal legal advice and 2) to provide transparency on the use of UNISON funds for ongoing release time for some NEC members. In regard to the latter, the Chair of the Finance and Resource Management Committee has been trying for seven months to obtain this information but has been refused access, making scrutiny and challenge on behalf of members impossible.

Had the General Secretary’s instruction been followed by the NEC Staffing Committee, it would not have met to debate proposals which – if agreed by the NEC to be subsequently taken to Conference – would introduce elections for the positions of Assistant General Secretary, Regional Secretary and Head of Service Group as they become vacant.

However, elected members of the NEC Staffing Committee decided to proceed with the meeting and to invite relevant staff. All 12 NEC members of the Staffing Committee were present and were able to take decisions to: 1) Agree to take forward proposals on the election of senior positions, 2) Agree to permanent funding to make secure the employment of temporary staff who support members with particularly difficult casework, and 3) Agree to a request for funding to employ additional staff to improve oversight of UNISON’s many contracts and to support branches with their procurement.

All NEC members value the contribution made by UNISON staff, but the elected NEC and its Committees must continue to function.

The General Secretary was given the opportunity to withdraw her instruction. So far she has declined to do so. However, NEC meetings must continue to preserve the democracy of our union.

The above episode shows that real change is desperately required in UNISON to create a truly member-led union.