Member Defence
We have some good news. Not a lot as the TV magician Paul Daniels would say. But still good news. There is a proposal about to come into law, under new Employment legislation, to require employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. This might not seem significant but it can overcome the biggest hurdle to trade union membership- signing up when you start a job.
The government’s plans to try to increase trade union membership through better information for employees is a good thing however the NEU is keen to see that these rights are workable, rather than a tick-box exercise. Employers will be under an obligation to signpost trade union membership as part of the Employment legislation. It’s a step in the right direction that workers should be reminded of their right to join a union at periodic intervals, but the NEU believes there should also be an on-going requirement that employers maintain the information about the right to join a trade union operating in that workplace at all important times. Furthermore, this requirement should be framed in easy-to-understand language, given the complexity of the legal framework surrounding Trade Union membership and activities.
The Employment Rights Act will be rolled out over a number of years and there are all sorts of progressive things in it. Consultations with unions on Unions on industrial action are part of this phase. There are likely to be significant ramifications for the NEU. There is a consultation on the thresholds for ballots as well as for electronic voting. By electronic voting this probably means voting by email on industrial action. There is the likelihood that the current 50%+1 for industrial action (40% in favour) threshold will be removed. If that is introduced it will probably be in tandem with electronic voting. On 28th February we have an indicative ballot for action. If we move to an actual live ballot these changes may come too late for our subsequent vote.
Call me a glass half-full guy but the positive things that have come out of the Labour Government’s Employment Strategy are:
- Day 1 rights next year/6 months or maybe later this year.
- Unions need to re-ballot every year as opposed to every six months.
- Sick pay changes
Advice Line Report
There were 4320 calls in November to our Advice Line
There were 3414 calls in December (although this is the holiday period)
NJC Unions (Unite, Unison and GMB)
The NEU doesn’t have a seat at the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) and we are arguing for this in talks with other unions. Our Special Conference in February might be a stumbling block for these talks. We want this arrangement to change. The NEU want to organise the unorganised. The downside is…I spoke to Daniel on Saturday and he said clearly that the NEU will be expelled from the TUC if our Union votes to challenge the status quo with the other unions. We will do what the members vote for but as the saying goes; “If you’re not at the table you’re on the menu.”
Indicative ballot
Schools are running on empty. Absolutely. This is a fight over funding as school budgets are stretched and going backwards. Industrial action is important but alone won’t change the direction of education. As a Union we are one of the most active in the UK as disputes have been rising exponentially.
In 2024 the NEU spent £850,000 on strike pay
In 2025 £2 million was spent on strike pay and the amount is rising! In Liverpool we have had some of the longest strikes I remember.
Possible changes to the 1265 hours will be a red line. Hopefully the Government won’t attempt to change our 1265 and this might be kicked into the long grass.
Donations
The NEU nationally have just approved a giant donation to £150,000 to Stand Up to Racism. We have also made a donation of £85,000 to Hope Not Hate. The argument given for such large donations is that these organisations can not only fight racism but somehow burst the Reform UK bubble. I have no objection to the Union supporting these organisations and we should do so. The scale of these donations is not just disproportionately large but also, in my opinion, mistaken not in intent but in outcome, because these organisations won’t shift the electoral arithmetic on Reform and they don’t have a political answer- just more “love”, “hope” and “unity” and “celebrities” and appeal to abstract nouns. Also, how do these organisations actually spend their money? If you look at their websites, you won’t find an answer.
Another enormous donation was made to “Together Alliance”- £250,000. Its slogan “For Love. For Hope. For Unity.” That’s a lot of money for more abstract nouns and vibes! I think “Together” is a reincarnation of “Enough is Enough” https://www.facebook.com/eiecampaign/ and “The People’s Assembly” https://thepeoplesassembly.org.uk/ . Remember them? Probably not. The faces on the platforms will be almost the same. Together will have big demos. Good. And Celebrity endorsements. Also ok. But its direction won’t move the dial at all on Reform UK’s electoral popularity. It would make more sense to support campaigns that look into Reform UK’s links with foreign donors like Russia. This type of campaign is largely based upon the myth of Cable Street. Cable Street was an important battle just before WW2 where Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists attempted to intimidate the Jewish Community of London’s East End by aping Hitlerian mass rallies. It was a significant event but- it didn’t stop the rise of fascism in Britain! Demos alone never do. In fact Mosley’s Black Shirts’ support rose after Cable Street. The British Union of Fascists (BUF) moved towards an anti-war stance, and profited in 1939 by the German annexation of Bohemia and the fear of war in the UK. Mosley blamed the “march towards war” on ‘Jewish finance’. At the peak of this campaign, Mosley was able to address an audience 11,000 strong at Exhibition Hall, Earls Court, years after Cable Street. If Together Alliance wants to stop the rise of the Far Right and Reform then there is a by-election in Manchester. Having a demo there and canvassing door-to-door would have a much bigger effect than a celebrity-endorsed rally featuring the same faces -including our ex-General Secretary who is appearing on Together Alliance platforms as well as being Chair of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. I don’t see how fighting the Far Right is connected to the blockade on Cuba. So while the forthcoming Together Alliance demo is important, we are under a profoundly misleading illusion if we repeat the same campaigns of the last years. Like the Grand Old Duke of York marching his men to the top of the hill and back down again.
On international donations- because you should know where the priorities of the NEU are. Again. Personally I’m not against any of these projects but some specific causes, which if you look at my reports, are funded much more than others:
Venezuela Solidarity Campaign- the NEU nationally made a donation of £8,500.
The NEU also made a £10,000 donation to Palestinian teachers.
The NEU also made a £10,000 donation to a Jericho clinic in Palestine.
The NEU nationally also made a donation to the Dar El Fanon cultural project that promotes Palestinian arts.
The NEU also made three donations for vital Hurricane relief in Jamaica which came to £15,000.
Our membership numbers are incredible considering where we have come from. Our membership numbers are stabilising from a very high level.
Also it looks like the NEU will be coming off toxic X/Twitter as we voted to close the official NEU national account and we and we think locally we should do the same things. Hooray!
In solidarity, Peter
National Executive Member and Joint Liverpool NEU Secretary