Delegates at the TGWU recall conference held in December voted overwhelmingly to endorse the proposed Instrument of Amalgamation with Amicus. Members of the T&G and Amicus will be balloted in February with a recommendation from both the unions Executives to vote yes. Socialist Appeal is not opposed to the principle of a democratic merger wherever that helps to improve bargaining strength. But the proposals contained in the Instrument of Amalgamation will not achieve that aim. Socialist Appeal supporters argued for a delay in the merger timetable and a recall conference that would allow further lay input to propose democratic alternatives. But a motion calling for a recall conference was rejected at the Amicus Executive meeting in October. The TGWU recall conference was not allowed to propose amendments after a proposal from TGWU Region 6 was defeated at the TGWU Executive and the conference could only vote on a 'take it or leave it' proposal.

The proposed instrument removes the election of Officials rule that left supporters in Amicus struggled so hard to achieve. When the election of Officials rule was abolished by the right wing Jackson regime in one of the predecessor unions to Amicus, the AEEU, it took a whole decade to restore. It is said that there will be an opportunity for rank & file members to alter the rules of a new union in November 2010. But that could be delayed even more if any new mergers, such as with the GMB, push back the timetable still further as happened in the AEEU/MSF merger. It is not just election of officials in Amicus that is at stake. The whole role of a branch will be denigrated. In Amicus a branch will no longer be able to elect delegates and send resolutions to a Regional Branch Conference and from there to the National Conference. The 25% representation from branches at conferences and committees, as currently under Amicus rules, will be abolished. Regional Council finances will be cut by half. The number of delegates to Policy Conference will be cut by half and Rules Conference by three-quarters.

In the TGWU delegates are elected from branches to attend the union conference. Under the new proposed rules only branch officers and workplace reps will be allowed to attend conferences or stand for election, and the rules on how delegates to conference will be elected have yet to be drawn up! In both unions Branches will not even be entitled to elect delegates to local Trade Councils, Labour Party Constituencies or any other local bodies as the regions will take over this function. The proposed Joint Executive will only be represented by 15 members from each union with many sectors having no representation as a result. The running of the union will be in the hands of the two General Secretaries in between meetings, with no requirement to account for their actions to the Executive. The General Secretaries will also have a right of veto over all proposals unless 75% of the Joint Executive vote to overturn a decision. The proposal for Derek Simpson to stay on to 66 flies in the face of the arguments he used against Jackson's extension of office and for a policy of early retirement in 2002.

Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson have used the argument that a new union will be able to more effectively fight for members and have invoked the spirit of the Trade Union pioneers who built the trade union movement out of struggle. But this proposed Instrument of Amalgamation will instead serve to create a giant monolithic bureaucracy that will further prevent members from challenging the leadership when they repudiate strike action such as happened at the Wembley stadium dispute and in the Gate Gourmet dispute. That is why Socialist Appeal supporters are not prepared to abandon hard fought for democracy, and are opposed to these proposed merger terms that members will be balloted with in February.