Ian Allinson’s statement on the Unite General Secretary election result

The result won’t be officially declared by the Executive Council until Friday 28th April, but the votes are counted and are as follows: Len McCluskey 59067 (45.4%) Gerard Coyne 53544 (41.2%) Ian Allinson 17143 (13.2%) Spoiled papers 317 (0.2%) Total vote 130071 (turnout of 12.2%, from 1062049 ballot papers despatched) Update: full General Secretary and … Read more

Oppose Toxic Partnership

Ian Allinson, the grassroots socialist candidate for Unite General Secretary, argues that more must be done to counter partnership, an approach to trade unionism that accepts that “we are all in it together” with our employers, and the damage that does to effective union organisation.

Ian on picket at Fujitsu Manchester

I’ve raised the problems of the toxic alliance of Unite with employers and government to support nuclear

weapons and nuclear power. This sacrifices good, sustainable, jobs for the sake of a much smaller number of jobs at any price.

However, the problem of partnership is much more widespread. It is a barrier to building effective, independent, workplace organisation. This issue must be tackled now. If we continue tying our futures to our employers’ short-term business plans we will be unable to defend jobs in the face of the massive changes that are coming in many industries due to climate change.

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Organising needs experimentation and sharing lessons

Lots of small fish turn on big fish

Ian Allinson, the grassroots socialist candidate for Unite General Secretary, argues that the union needs to build on the success of its organising strategy by doing more to involve lay members, support experimentation, and share lessons and successes.

Unite’s organising has been a success, helping to stop the decline in membership and increasing members’ power to win in many workplaces. But our efforts have not yet been sufficient to turn the tide or prevent the balance of power being tilted massively against workers, who generally face downward pressure on pay and benefits, and feel vulnerable to managerial whim and job insecurity at work; while housing, welfare and vital services are eroded outside work.

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Members need Unite structures which help seize the opportunities

Ian Allinson, the grassroots socialist candidate for Unite General Secretary, explains how Unite’s structures reflect the past and managerial convenience, not members’ current needs and organising opportunities, and pledges to involve members, officers and staff in a major review if he is elected.

Unite’s current structures are not fit for purpose. A large proportion of power and resources lie within regions, but this structure doesn’t fit the reality of members’ employment and how we need the union to support us. The structure reflects the history of Unite’s constituent unions, the compromises made during mergers, and managerial convenience. The Rules Conference process is effective for tweaking the structure, but a review is required to bring forward coherent proposals for more fundamental changes.

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