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From The Socialist newspaper, 20 February 2008
It's official - Unison launches witch-hunt on Socialist Party
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Onay Kasab, photo Paul Mattsson |
In June last year, the Unison bureaucracy launched a disciplinary investigation into five union officers. This was for daring to print and publish a leaflet attacking the union leadership for blocking the union conference's right to debate issues such as the funding of the Labour Party, the election of full-time officials and control over strike action.
A Unison member
Having done nothing with the disciplinary investigation for seven months, four of the five under investigation have just been informed that they ARE now to face a disciplinary hearing. And guess what? The only members of the five to face action are the four Socialist Party members! (Glenn Kelly, Onay Kasab, Suzanne Muna and Brian Debus).
The four were told in a letter from the misnamed "head of democratic services" that they are to be brought to a hearing. The only problem was, the letter arrived a week before the national executive (NEC) had even met and voted to approve the decision to go to a hearing!
Before disciplinary action can be taken against a member, the NEC has to approve it. But at the NEC meeting on 13 February, the union denied NEC members the right to debate the report and instead moved straight to a vote.
It is now clear that the union are intent on trying to silence the Socialist Party within the union and in the process hope to cow others.
We now call on all Unison members to write to their regional NEC members calling for the hearing to be dropped.
Suzanne is also being 'disciplined' by her employers but she has the full backing of her fellow union members.
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In The Socialist 20 February 2008:
Demonstration
Socialist Party news
Stop the witch-hunt: Defend the Sheridan 7
Prison officers fight Labour's strike ban
Battle for Shropshire schools goes on
Coventry protests at Widdecombe's attacks
Football: Top of the League for greed
Socialist Party Marxist analysis
Northern Rock - Labour's reluctant nationalisation
1918-2008: Clause 4 and nine decades of workers' struggles
Socialist Party NHS campaign
London's health care under further attack
Fighting back and building a demo
"Not making sufficient profit"
Socialist Students
Universities in crisis: Fees favour the rich
Exeter students fight privatisation
International socialist news and analysis
Kosovan independence - a dangerous mirage?
Greece: Second general strike in two months
Socialist Party review
Science, Marxism and the big bang
Socialist Party workplace news
It's official - Unison launches witch-hunt on Socialist Party
Socialist gains in Unison branch elections
Collection cuts and bullying equals bin strike!
Victory for council street wardens
Workplace news in brief
Marching against single status
Solidarity with Pakistan workers
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