In a few short weeks delegates from all our trade unions will gather once more in Brighton for the Annual TUC Congress.

Last year’s Congress instructed the General Council to:

Give full support to affiliated unions’ efforts to protect their members’ real and relative pay levels, to oppose the Government’s two per cent pay target for public sector workers, and to co-ordinate a joint campaign of opposition at national and local levels to the Government’s unfair public sector pay limit, including co-ordinated joint industrial action.

What have we seen as a result of this decision?

Well, on Thursday 24 April, members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) at schools in England and Wales took strike action alongside members of the University and Colleges Union (UCU) in the Further Education sector and about a third of the membership of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).

Separately, UNISON and UNITE members in English, Welsh and Northern Irish local government services took strike action on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 July, along with a selection of PCS members in the civil service, whilst their Scottish local government counterparts (and members of the GMB who abstained from the action south of the border) are striking on Wednesday 20 August.

At the moment, three out of six trade unions in the Further Education sector have accepted 3.2% pay rises – breaking the 2% policy, but still falling short of price inflation.

But the unions are not united in the way they need to. Why?

Since last year’s Congress called for united action over public sector pay, there have been only the tiniest steps in that direction. In the mean time no group of public sector workers has settled a pay dispute above the rate of inflation – and none of those who have been taking action are yet close to a satisfactory settlement.

Those groups who are trying to fight against real terms pay cuts, in line with TUC policy, are caught in a trap from which it is difficult to mobilise members to participate in strike action – because the members don’t believe that we can win unless we take united action, but the united action we know we need isn’t really on the agenda.

But the TUC Congress called for coordinated action.

Sections of the leadership of the trade unions, and in particular of UNISON’s leadership do not want this – because they do not want to lose control of a pay dispute which could only be won by a frontal assault upon the Government and itss pay policy.

There are those who blame the relationship between UNISON and the Labour Party for this lack of enthusiasm. But a more plausible explanation is that UNISON’s leaders are seriously worried when our activists can compare and contrast their leadership with that of – for example – Mark Serwotka.

Anyone who attended the London strike rally on Wednesday 16 July left convinced that active UNISON members want united public sector strike action over pay and welcomed the leadership of those, such as Serwotka, who are trying to deliver it.

This year’s TUC will call once more for unified strike action public sector pay. But will the leadership of the main public service union continue to try to avoid this? We shall have to wait and see.

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This article is part of a Liberal Conspiracy effort to feature more news and commentary on Trade Unions, which is increasingly missing from the national press.

· About the author: This is a guest post. MarshaJane is a UNISON member, a member of the Labour Party, and the LRC (Labour Representation Committee) and Co-Chair of the LRC's Youth wing SYN (Socalist Youth Network). She blogs with others at Union Futures.

· Other posts by MarshaJane Thompson

· Filed under: Blog , Economy , Trade Unions

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