uniteWORKS Comment
Our Union Family In 2022, Unite will be marking an important centenary for working people. That year saw the foundation of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, known in Ireland as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers’ Union, which over subsequent years it came together with other unions to form what is today Unite*. During times of conflict – including a civil war, two world wars and too many years of sectarian bloodshed – the trade union movement was the glue holding working class people together and reminding them that will always have more in common than that which divides us. That legacy of solidarity has fortified workers in their struggles. Most recently, Unite and GMB members in Harland and Wolff (see story on pages 12-13) knew that they had the backing of union members throughout the region as they fought to save their jobs and Northern Ireland’s skill base. A few weeks after workers saved Harland and Wolff, I conveyed their solidarity to members on the Delfin picket line in Dublin, taking action for decent work. Like Belfast shipyard workers a few weeks earlier, they were supported not only by Unite comrades but by the entire trade union movement. Although the full ramifications of Brexit remain unclear, what is clear is that no border will drive a wedge between working people on these islands. In 2019 we said goodbye to two stalwart members who remained active long after retirement and were familiar faces in our Belfast and Dublin offices, as well as at union conferences and events. Jimmy Nixon and Des Bonass died within weeks of each other, and you can read our tributes on pages 22-23. Des and Jimmy witnessed many of the events that form our union’s collective memory – the strikes, occupations and lockouts; the industrial victories and occasional defeats; the civil society campaigns and political battles. Their legacy will help us meet the challenges ahead.
Drawing on solidarity in 2020 “If the workers see themselves faced with defeat through starvation, they will prefer to go down fighting rather than fainting”. The words of Ernest Bevin – General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union – during the 1926 General Strike resonate today as Unite members fight to advance not only their own terms and conditions, but the interests of their communities. From healthcare workers in Northern Ireland to Bord na Mona workers in the Republic – Unite members can always be found on the frontline. And in 2020, Unite’s fighting fund puts employers on notice that our members will never face ‘defeat through starvation’. Unite is unique in representing workers throughout Britain and Ireland. Our diversity has been our strength, even during times of conflict. Just a few years after the Irish War of Independence and subsequent Civil War, members of the union in Ireland were steadfast in their solidarity with British workers during the General Strike. That solidarity is the bedrock of our movement, and we will continue building on it as we face the challenges of a new year and a new decade. Those challenges are significant. In the UK and Northern Ireland, the new Tory Government is not only poised to launch an assault on workers’ rights: they are also set to impose a damaging Brexit deal for which workers in Northern Ireland and the Republic, as well as Britain, may pay the price. As trade unionists, we know that what happens at the Cabinet table affects workers as much as what happens at the negotiating table, which is why so many of us campaigned for Labour’s anti-austerity, transformative economic and social offer during the UK elections. As I write, the dust is still settling on the results of the General Election in the Republic which highlighted the many crises facing working people, from housing to healthcare and poverty pay to precariousness. Unite’s political strategy in the ROI will continue to be built on the ten Right2Change policy principles, which forms the basis of our campaigning. As the Right in both Britain and Ireland continue their aggressive pursuit of class politics. Unite will be at the forefront of the fightback.
Jackie Pollock, regional secretary uniteWORKS Ireland No:4 26-34 Antrim Road, Belfast BT15 2AA uniteWORKS Ireland No:4 26-34 Antrim Road, Belfast BT15 2AA Tel: 028 90 232381 Fax: 028 90 329904 Tel: 028 90 232381 Fax: 028 90 329904 Magazine enquiries and letters to the editor, by post, phone, Magazine enquiries and letters to the editor, by post, phone, or email uniteworksireland@unitetheunion.org or email uniteworksireland@unitetheunion.org Distribution enquiries contact your regional office. Distribution enquiries contact your regional office Available digitally.
Len McCluskey, general secretary
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uniteWORKS Winter 2019/2020
