STUC opposes Trident as 'an extravagance and an irrelevance'

The STUC has renewed its call for Trident replacement to be abandoned and will revisit setting up Trade Union CND, focussing on job diversification for workers employed on Trident.

In a debate with major UNISON contributions from the union itself and several trade union councils, delegates rejected a GMB motion calling for Trident replacement as the ‘only game in town’ to defend jobs.

UNISON NEC policy chair Jane Carolan, in a rousing speech, supporting a Clydebank TUC motion, dubbed Trident: "An extravagance and an irrelevance" (see full text of her speech below).

UNISON activist Tom Morrison had moved the motion for Clydebank TUC, seconded by Arthur West from Kilmarnock and Loudon TUC. Both made reasoned, evidenced and devastating critiques of moral and economic case against Trident.

Kate Ramsden, speaking for Aberdeen TUC’s motion slammed the arms trade that sells weapons to repressive regimes.

She said: "Remember the bombardment of Gaza in 2014? The devastation wrought by Israeli bombs and missiles whose component parts were made at the Raytheon factory in Fife.

"Arms sales fuel conflict, support repression and make the world a more dangerous place for all of us, but especially those who through accident of birth, live in war zones or under oppression.

"And in the process, very rich people are becoming even richer on the backs of the suffering they create and care little for. It’s immoral, it’s obscene and it has to stop."
…………………………
Jane Carolan’s speech to STUC against Trident Renewal

TU Bill attacks human rights. Manchester Rally.

UNISON's North West Region hosted an anti trade union bill rally at the Mechanics Institute Manchester tonight with Angela Raynor MP, Paula Barket, NW Convener, Kevan Nelson, UNISON North West Secretary, UNISON Policy Chair Jane Carolan and Carl Roper of the TUC, Here we cover Jane Carolan's speech in full.

"It was Catch 22 that immortalised the phrase just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean that they are not after you.

Even before the General Election last year we knew a Tory victory would put trade unionism at the forefront of an assault on working people

We didn’t have long before this abomination of a piece of legislation was published.

It attacks human rights, civil liberties, political freedom, the right to organise, the right to strike.

In short it is an attempt to kill resistance to the Tory project from the workplace or the electorate. We don’t fit into a Tory world view. In Thatcher’s famous phrase, we remain the enemy within.

UNISON must get anti-austerity, workers' rights and anti-TTIP message into EU vote debate

UNISON's Jane Carolan, speaking at today's Institute of Employment Rights Conference outlined the history of the union's position on the EU and the referendum debate ahead. This is the full text of her speech:-

'What happened in Greece was not 

an aberration from EU policies but a 

logical consequence of them.' 

Jane Carolan

"UNISON has no policy from NDC (National Conference) on the issue of leaving the EU. That may surprise some who have seen our regular opposition to policies on the European Union proposed through TUC Congress but there is no contradiction here. Quite simply UNISON’s democratically agreed policies have consistently been ultra-critical of the EU institutions practices and policies BUT not one of the motions that we have passed has actually gone on to propose that as a result the union should commit itself to backing an EU withdrawal.

This goes back to the first national delegate conference of the union. When Nalgo, NUPE and Cohse came together to form UNISON the Nalgo left could see from the proposed rule book that the new union was to be pro public service, anti-privatisation.

However there were a number of policies that had been hard fought for in the old Nalgo that needed to be reiterated in the new union. One was Palestine, where support for the self determination of the Palestinian People had been initially narrowly won in the 80s. A second was opposition to Trident replacement and a commitment defence diversification that remains UNISON policy to this day.

What can I say other than plus ca change…

And the final one was opposition to the Maastricht Treaty.

We have a moral and legal obligation to help refugees: Jane Carolan full #TUC15 speech

“We have a moral and legal obligation to help refugees”, UNISON NEC member Jane Carolan told delegates today in a moving speech backing a statement committing the General Council to campaign for Government policy to:
- recognise that the UK must play a full role in supporting refugees and fulfil its moral and legal obligations to significantly upscale its resettlement programme
- participate fully in a continent-wide response to the refugee crisis
- make welcome tens of thousands of refugees whether from camps in the Middle East or already in Europe
- .fully fund refugee resettlement, avoiding the exploitation of refugees and avoiding extra pressure on poorer inner-city communities, whilst ensuring that the international development budget is only used in line with OECD guidelines on official development assistance.

"Jane’s full speech is below.

This motion refers to events that everyone in this hall must be aware of, from the images that have been beamed into our homes on a nightly basis. I would hope that no one in this hall watches them with anything other than compassion and pity.

TTIP needs international union response

#stuc15 UNISON NEC member Jane Carolan reminded the STUC in Ayr today about the need for an international response to the TTIP “assault on democratic government”.

A composite from four unions and four local TUCs called on the STUC to campaign against TTIP, support an international protest in Paris in December and to call for politicians who have an interest in the privatisation to declare an interest and abstain on voting on TTIP.

Union women can defeat the Con Dems

#unwc15 UNISON NEC member Jane Carolan writes in the Morning Star on the potential influence of the union's women members on the outcome of the upcoming General Election: 'The country can afford the services that UNISON members provide - services that save, protect and enrich lives - if we stop wasting money on costly privatisations and pointless reorganisations and make the banks, big corporations and the super-rich pay a fairer share in tax.

Cuts to funding are becoming critical, to the point that local authorities could be on the verge of collapse - yet if the Tories continue in power there’s more to come. Our alternative, the UNISON manifesto Securing the Future of Public Services, is available on our website.

We each have a contribution to make. Do not assume that neighbours and workmates vote. Do not assume that they are aware of the alternatives. We need a million female members speaking up for public services because they care about the services they deliver and the services that they use.

One million women demanding an alternative can make a difference. One million women demanding change equals hope'
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-978c-One-million-women-make-a-difference#.VN2atVZFDIU

Collective bargaining a force for social justice

#stuc14 Collective bargaining is now essential for our economy, UNISON's Jane Carolan told the STUC annual congress in Dundee today.

In a 'back to basics' speech she called for a new manifesto for negotiating rights.

"These rights must be enforced and enforced together-we should not accept half measures or other attempts to distract us", she said.

Quality education is not possible on the back of an exploited workforce

#PSICongress2012 Jane Carolan, UNISON NEC, intervened in a debate on union organisation in the education sector (particularly the non-teacher workforce) and called on PSI to build capacity, skills, bargain locally and internationally (taking on the multi-nationals). Also to facilitate networking by members in education and build solidarity with teaching unions by exposing the myth that quality education is possible on the back of an exploited workforce:

Activists and organisation key to pay fight

#tuc12 If we are to mount a credible campaign against austerity and the pay freeze, we need to organise our activists and get our members to believe in our cause. The campaign will not be won by arguments alone - strong as they are - but by organisation and collective action, Jane Carolan, UNISON Policy Chair, told the TUC Congress today.

Pointing to the Save the Children appeal to assist the poor, Jane said: "Appallingly, some of the families that feature in that appeal were working families - the working poor. That’s why this is not a fight about the private sector or about the public sector... No worker should be earning less than they need to lead a decent standard of living".

Pensions at the Women’s STUC

Following another set of positive ballot results for action on November 30th, the STUC Women’s Conference debated a composite on public sector pensions on Tuesday. The debate highlighted the usual issues of working longer, paying more and getting less but recognised the particular effects that the changes would have on women as public sector workers.

Stand together as the majority for public services

#TUC11 ‘We speak for the majority’, UNISON’s Jane Carolan told the TUC today as she led the Public Services debate today. “Our only defence is to stand together as the majority that we are”.
  We have to “stop apologising when we say that cutting public services is NOT the way out of this current economic mess. Cut Trident, cut the use of consultants. Cut out privatisation”, she said.

Cuts are not the Cure‏

#uNDC11 "We need to nail the lies and the myths peddled by the Tories and their backers in the right wing press if we are to make the case for the defence of public services" said NEC member Jane Carolan moving Composite E on economic policy immediately following the General Secretary's speech:

We are fighting a war of attrition and we will not give in

UNISON Policy Chair Jane Carolan, speaking at the Institute Of Employment Rights ‘What Now for Trade Unions?’ conference, outlined in clear and precise detail the way the Tories are pursuing a political goal to end the post war welfare consensus in the UK. Outlining the stupidity of making massive cuts now, Jane stressed the need for an industrial response and community unity in defending the basic public services relied on by all working people.