Jimmy Reid

I was saddened to hear this morning about the passing of Jimmy Reid, Trade Union activist and legend in his own lifetime. He was a truly great and inspirational man.

I met him on a few occasions, first when I worked as a researcher for Bruce McFee MSP - we were running a campaign to save the threatened Ferguson's Shipyard in Port Glasgow and Jimmy had gotten involved. He came into the office, and shared some tales and advice with us. It was a treat to be in his presence, although he felt my tea-making skills weren't up to scratch!

Later, he spoke at a meeting at the Pearce Institute in Govan - at length and without notes. My mum and dad had come along (unusually for them) to hear him, and were as captivated as the rest of us. His stories at times seemed to be a series of anecdotes, but by the end, he had gathered all of them elegantly together to illustrate the central thrust of his argument. It was quite an experience.

It was mentioned by one of Jimmy's close friends on the radio this afternoon that he often 'held court' after meetings, and SNP campaign conference in Glasgow in 2007 was such an occasion. He had been looked after at conference by the Trade Union Group, but found himself in the wee small hours surrounded by members of the party's youth and student wings. It was quite something to sit near this great man and listen to his experiences, asking questions and soaking up his wisdom. He was principled but realistic, explaining to us his place in the SNP had come by understanding that Labour was no longer the party he had joined.

At the time, he said:

"I have waited a long time to see forces emerging within the New Labour Party that would bring the party back to its roots, "

"But I have been waiting in vain and with every year that passes, Tony Blair and New Labour move further to the right. They are now indistinguishable from the Thatcherite Tories."

He made a great contribution to our cause in the relatively brief time he was a member, making the trip up from the Isle of Bute to give of his precious time despite his age and failing health. The most recent contribution I recall was during the Glasgow East by election.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have met Jimmy. Scotland is a greater place for having had him, and a dimmer place tonight.

Trade Unions and Labour

I was moved to blog after reading Jeff's post about USDAW's generous donation in kind of campaign telephones for Glasgow North East. This is a very useful resource to be offered, so it's unfortunate that Labour will be the only party to benefit from it, despite the offer accidentally going out to all MSPs. Nosiness led me to check out USDAW's website, whereupon I got a bit annoyed.

Of the four news stories featured on their website, three mention Labour very favourably in their first paragraph. Ach, I thought, maybe that's to be expected. However, under Support our Campaigns, the second article reads "Winning with Labour... Join Labour today... It's FREE for USDAW members!". It's beyond me why this is ranked more important than USDAW's campaigns for respect for shop workers and support for the minimum wage. If I was being represented by USDAW, I'd be pretty disappointed.

I've only scratched the surface of their website so I apologise if I'm now speaking out of turn. I'm deeply unimpressed by their watery support for increasing the wages of 16 and 17 year olds and in particular the equalisation of the minimum wage. Their most recent article seems to be a survey, behind that, articles from a few years ago. This is a really important issue for me, and I'm surprised that this particular union falls short of the YSI and SNP's position.

I worked for a high street retailer for six years, from sixth year at school until the year after I left uni. This retailer didn't recognise trade unions, and there were several instances where their input would have been useful (shift changes for the Christmas sales, health and safety, conditions). I see from my work in the Council on the Personnel Appeals Committee the commitment and work of Trade Unions in representing their members, and would have appreciated that during my time in retail.

I don't see from USDAW's website however that they're actually achieving anything very much for their members by paying money and giving positive coverage to Labour; it seems unfair that the hard earned money of their members should be blindly funding Labour. If it's a considered democratic and strategic decision, I could give it some respect; more often than not, unions just seem to pay out over and over again with no guarantee of anything in return.

What frustrates me the most about Trade Unions is their seemingly undying commitment to the Labour Party. This isn't just about loyalty to a cause, it's about money too; from 1st July 2008 to 30th June 2009, Trade Unions donated £9,773,918.25 from their coffers to the Labour Party. Of that, USDAW gave £1,895,997.41. In that same period, the only other political party who registered donations from a trade union was No2EU:Yes to Democracy, who were backed by the RMT.

I can understand where the trade unions are coming from, and why the bonds with Labour might be hard to break. What I don't get is the tactical significance of continuing to spend the money of their members on a government which doesn't always take their side.

The CWU are considering legal action to prevent Royal Mail bringing in agency staff, and are getting very little time or support from the Goverment. Gordon Brown says "get back round the table", the CWU say it's "vindictive" Mandleson's fault. Funnily enough, the CWU gave the party of government a very generous £663,177.90 in the period mentioned above. What has this achieved? Clearly, in terms of influence over Government policy for the benefit of their members, this has been money down the drain. There are significant gaps between the CWU and the party they fund.

If you're not getting anything much for your money, why continue to fund the Labour Party? Perhaps this is something the world out there might like to explain to me.

SNP TUG Fringe Meeting

I appreciate that some readers may be unfamiliar with conference lingo, so a wee explanation first - in between the formal plenary sessions (where resolutions are debated), in the morning, at lunch and in the early evening, organisations host hour-long sessions on specific topics with a range of speakers. These are known as Fringe events. There tend to be several on at a time, weighed up by the quality of speakers or the refreshments on offer. There's very little time to sit and eat proper meals at conference, so food gets quite important!

Tonight, I attended the SNP's trade union group's event, which featured stovies, Alex Salmond, and speakers from the FBU, NUJ, RMT and STUC.

A lively Q&A session discussed issues like health and safety, stress, social partnerships, the problems facing public services in the recession, and the opportunities for trade unions in Scotland.

If you were really annoyed, you'd stop giving Labour money...

I was watching a bit of the TUC conference on the news. I feel I'm missing something. I appreciate that strike action is a dramatic last resort. It is not and should not be undertaken lightly. I appreciate also that the Trade Union movement has very close and historic ties to the Labour Party.

If unions really, really, wanted to make the Labour Party sit up and take notice, why don't they stop funding them? From the start of 2008, Trade Unions have given the Labour Party an astonishing £2,545,043.48 in cash and £20,949.18 in non-cash donations. This even in a non-election year. If you give that kind of money to a party and still end up having to go out on strike, the money you're giving is not being appreciated. Trade Union members should expect better.