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Right wing trounced in UNITE election |
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By our industrial correspondent
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Monday, 22 November 2010 |
The right wing suffered a big set back in the election for the new General Secretary election of Unite, Britain’s biggest trade union with 1.4 million members.
Les Bayliss, Derek Simpson’s anointed successor, managed to poll only 46,000 votes and was forced into third place despite being promoted by the media as the main contender. The membership clearly rejected the no-strike deal philosophy put forward by Bayliss, which would have turned Unite into little more than a company union. His attempt to bribe the members by pledging that everyone would get a free diary clearly failed to impress.
The rank and file left candidate, Jerry Hicks, the victimized ex-convenor at Bristol’s Rolls Royce factory, did a marvellous job coming second with over 52,000 votes and beating two Assistant General Secretaries in the bargain. This included Gail Cartmail, the “non political candidate”, who came last with 39,000 votes and who clearly stood in order to take Amicus votes away from Hicks.
The winner was Len McCluskey, the current Assistant General Secretary of Unite, and nominally on the left, who picked up 101,000 votes. He will be seen as following in the footsteps of Woodley by defending the appointment of officials as well as their current bloated salaries. At 61 years of age, McCluskey is due to retire in four years time. In the meantime, he needs to be held to account over his promise to create a fighting union to defend jobs, oppose the cuts and end the anti-union laws. If he is worth his salt, he will need to give full backing to BA workers and refuse to recommend a shabby “best we can offer” deal.
This result means that the combined left vote was over 153,000 compared to 46,000 for the main right wing candidate, which shatters the argument used by some that there was a real danger of a right wing victory in this election. This excuse was used by the Socialist Party, in particular, to justify their refusal to support Hicks, despite his left wing credentials and programme. The stupid claim that "a vote for Hicks was a vote for Bayliss" has been soundly disproved, just as it was in the 2009 election when it was alleged that a vote for Hicks was a vote for Coyne. As Jerry said, the argument is a bit like the “weapons of mass destruction” argument. They never existed, and neither was the serious right wing threat. It was only a feeble excuse to undermine the genuine left wing campaign of Hicks.
Unlike the other candidates, who as Assistant General Secretaries received huge resources to promote their campaigns, including help from full-time union officers, Jerry’s campaign was run on a shoe-string budget funded by the donations of ordinary workers. His opponents took out full-page adverts in national newspapers while Jerry met people face to face. Despite the lack of resources, Jerry travelled all over the country by National Express coach to address meetings and meet supporters. He visited various picket-lines and demos throughout the last year, instead of being, like the other candidates, conspicuous by their absence. He covered thousands of miles speaking directly to members at their workplaces and in their communities. He slept in the spare bedrooms, couches and floors of his supporters and not the four star hotels that the other candidates put on union expenses. He was a genuine rank-and-file candidate and provided a fighting alternative to the milk and water ideas of the other candidates.
Jerry came out clearly for a union based upon democracy and member-led. He called for the election of all officials (including the General Secretary), which the other candidates opposed. He came out for all union officials to be on the average wage of the membership, again opposed by all the rest. The outgoing joint general secretary of Unite, Derek Simpson, is reported to receive a basic annual salary of £105,000, plus other perks. The union leaders should live like the members, not on inflated bosses’ salaries. Jerry stood not only for the repeal of the Tory anti-union laws, but where necessary they should be openly defied. Again, the other candidate shrank from such a position. Jerry went on to oppose privatisation and for an extension of public ownership as an answer to the crisis.
This had a great resonance with the rank and file members Jerry was able to reach. This also served to push McCluskey further to the left, at least verbally. Given the capitalist press campaign and the frighteners put out by large sections of Unite officialdom, many would have seen McCluskey as a safer bet to keep out the right wing. Those who voted for McCluskey will now want him to deliver on his promises. The major events in the coming period will put this to the test.
Socialist Appeal sends its thanks and greetings to Jerry for a magnificent campaign, a campaign we proudly supported from the very beginning. The task still remains to build on Jerry’s campaign, pulling together the people that did so much hard work and continuing the fight to turn Unite into a fighting democratic union led by the membership. In the end, we will succeed.
The result will not formally be announced until the union’s executive meets on Wednesday. However the widely reported vote breakdown in a turnout of just over 15% is as follows:
1. Len McCluskey, 101,000 votes (42%)
2. Jerry Hicks, 53,000 votes (22%)
3. Les Bayliss, 47,000 votes (19%)
4. Gail Cartmail, 39,000 votes (16%)
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