The UNISON Political Fund Ballot

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The UNISONPolitical Fund Ballot
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What is the political fund?

• UNISONs political fund has two components
• The Affiliated Political Fund (APF), which links
  members who pay it to the Labour Party and
  enables them to take part in how it chooses its
  leaders and makes decisions
• The General Political Fund (GPF), which supports
  non party specific campaigns, including our work
  to combat the far right
• Both parts of the fund give UNISON a political
  voice and enable members to raise concerns with
  politicians about public services, working life
  and other important citizenship issues

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Members in the driving seat

• Each section of the political fund is overseen by
  a committee made of up elected members
• The Labour Link Committee includes members of
  UNISONs governing National Executive Council
  (NEC) plus one representative from each region
• The General Political Fund Committee is made up
  of members from the NEC. It receives bids to
  support political campaign activity from across
  the union. Lay members who pay into the GPF have
  a role in making decisions about bids from their
  regions

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Why is UNISON holding a political fund ballot?

• The law requires all trade unions to
• hold a ballot of members before establishing a
  political fund
• ask members every ten years whether they want to
  retain the fund.

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When is UNISON holding its political fund ballot?

• 27 October 5 November ballot papers dispatched
  with the Autumn edition of U Magazine
• 1-30 November the ballot period
• Early December 2014 results declared and
  appropriate actions taken to inform members

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Will UNISON be campaigning to retain the
political fund?

• Yes.
• The government would rather we had no collective
  voice.Our track record shows why

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Over the last 10 years we have successfullyused
our political fund to campaign for

• Better protections of terms and conditions
  including for outsourced workers(Warwick
  Agreement 2004)
• Equalities legislation, making it a duty of the
  public services to promote equality in respect of
  age, disability, gender, gender reassignment,
  pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief
  and sexual orientation (Equalities Act 2010)

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Over the last 10 years we have successfullyused
our political fund to campaign for

• An extension of paid holidays for all workers
  (Warwick Agreement)
• Introduction of regulations improving terms and
  conditions for agency workers on day one of a job
  and comparable terms to permanent staff after 12
  week qualifying period (Agency Workers Directive
  2010)
• A halt to coalition plans to break up national
  pay agreements in the NHS (2012)
• Successful campaigns against privatisation (e.g.
  Edinburgh and George Eliot hospital )

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Over the last 10 years we have successfullyused
our political fund to campaign for

• Defence of public service pensions (2006 and
  2011)
• Progress on equal pay (Equality Bill 2009)
• Flexible working, including family friendly
  measures to enable those with caring
  responsibilities to better manage their work and
  life responsibilities (2006)
• Right to expel and exclude racists from trade
  unions (2004)
• Schools Support Staff Negotiating Body
  established with responsibility for devising a
  scheme for pay and conditions for teaching
  assistants, caretakers and office workers in our
  schools (introduced in 2010 then scrapped by
  coalition)

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Over the last 10 years we have successfullyused
our political fund to campaign for

• An end to the divisive politics of the far right
  
• Hope Not Hate from the defeat of the BNP to
  efforts to highlight the corrosive effect of UKIP

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UK wide?

• The ballot covers Great Britain
• Northern Ireland not included
• But Scotland and Wales are where we also have a
  track record of using the fund effectively,
  especially since devolution

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How can I do my bit to help retain the political
fund?

• Make sure your branch members know about the
  ballot
• Highlight to all members the importance of
  retaining the political fund
• Materials available from communications and
  Learning and Organising Services, including this
  PowerPoint

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