That was the week that was - now the fightback must begin

It’s the Monday morning after the weekend recovery programme that’s always necessary after NDC. Today’s its grievances , disciplines and day-to-day negotiations , or business as usual. Generally there is a feeling that what happened at Conference stays at Conference. But not this year.

Generally NDC decides policy and we let the NEC get on with it. But Conference this year had a greater urgency and relevancy to the work of branches that ever before. Since the election on May 6th the Con-Dem coalition has revealed itself to be the greatest threat to public sector trade unionism we have ever faced. Where Thatcher targeted the miners and the industrial working class., we know that Cameron and Osborne will deliberately seek to destabilise our union. That will be done through attacks on our members pay, pensions and jobs . To defend them, we will need to engage all of the resources of this union. From conference we have an analysis of the economic crisis, but we also have a programme of work that needs to be addressed.

Tomorrow the results of the 2010 General Secretary’s election will be known . This blog has never doubted that Dave Prentis is the only candidate who has the ability and the courage to lead the union in the forthcoming fight. Conference has given him a blueprint . He now needs to take the plan and this union on a fightback basis.

At conference the key message was one of unity. Our branches need to know that was not the slogan for the week, but that at all levels, the leadership of this union will themselves be united. That means that the NEC and all of the Service Group Executives and Self Organised Groups need to realise that we have one job to do, and that is to provide the membership with the tools that they need.

That means that we no longer can afford the luxury of dividing our efforts on the basis of any perceived special interests . It means that duplication of effort and reinventing the wheel must stop. We need new and focused ways of working.

That means that conference promises about reinvigorating our organising and campaigning traditions must be more than promises.

That means that money can’t be spent away from those key priorities.

Our union can succeed by mobilising every member. It can only be done through our activists and our branches, following the agenda that our conference has agreed .

That is the task that we face and no diversion from it should be tolerated.

UNISONActive will back those efforts.