2007 pay dispute over strart preparing for 2008

Below is a statement I have issued to our members in Haringey. Clearly there are lessons to be learnt some of them are harder to accept than others. The obvious is don't wait nine months to ballot! A second less palatable one may be that members are naturally cautious about going on strike before Christmas when money is already tight.

For next year the lessons are clear: Real coordination with the widest possible range of public sector unions and ensuring that we build and mobilise the membership from the earliest opportunity. it is clear the teachers and the civil service and our good comrades in the NUT and PCS in particular are prepared to join us in a fight against this unjust pay policy. It is not insignificant that the government blinked over public sector pensions in 2005 as a result of such unity. Faced with united potential strike action on the 2008--2009 pay claims they will inevitably be forced to reconsider the appalling 2% limit.

we must not allow our leaders to be cautious as a result of this ballot result. Clearly there were particular factors which influenced the result and it should not be forgotten that despite this the result was a yes vote.

The campaign for 2008 must start now and members needs to be brought on board to give a very public response to Brown's insulting pay policy.

Sean Fox Haringey Statement
While I am disappointed with the outcome of the strike ballot I would like to thank all those who took the time to use their vote. Clearly the small majority would have made sustained strike action difficult to deliver on this occasion.

There are lessons to be learnt which I will be advancing in respect of the 2008-2009 pay claim. I view the most important of these being that we must take decisions early in the process if we intend to move towards a strike ballot. The prolonged delays in this process in the current dispute may have harmed the willingness of the members to take action. Next year if an offer is made and it is clear it will not be improved significantly other than by industrial action then members should be ballotted as soon after the offer is received as is possible.

It is clear the government intends to continence to attack our living standards through real terms pay cuts over the next two to three years at least. We shall be working closely with the other Public Sector unions both locally and nationally to deliver a co-ordinated campaign against this pay policy. In doing so we need your help as members of the Union. You can begin that today by looking around your workplaces and recruiting those who are not in a Trade Union to UNISON. In the longer term you can do so by supporting the various campaigning activities in support of our claim and by attending workplace and branch meetings when these are called. We must be prepared for a continuing battle to achieve decent pay rises.

Then National Joint Council will now notify the employer that the offer is accepted and members should receive their pay and backdated monies either in the November or December pay packet.

Yours in solidarity


Sean Fox
Branch Secretary