Len Hockey nomination request to UNISON NEC Health Seat

Leonardhockey789@hotmail.co.uk

Branch number 03378-Waltham Forest Health Branch

Dear UNISON Branch Secretary

UNISON National Executive Council Elections (NEC) 2011

Nominate Len Hockey for the Health Service Group Male Seat

UNISON membership number: 0748487

I am writing to seek the nomination of your branch for the health service group male seat on the NEC.

I have 22 years trade union activity in UNISON and NUPE becoming Branch Secretary for Waltham Forest Health Branch in 1990. I have served on the Health Service Group Executive up to 2010 and represent the Greater London Region on the National Ancillary Sector Committee. I am currently a member of the Greater London Regional Committee and have been an active socialist and trade unionist since 1980.

FOR A FIGHTING DEMOCRATIC UNION

The threat posed by the election of the ConDem government to all of the social advances working people have made in the last 80 years demands a radical programme of united action across our union and all service sectors. I believe firmly in the militant and campaigning traditions of the labour movement. This requires strategies that build from the bottom up, fighting public sector trade union alliances, including coordinated industrial action which is the agreed policy of the TUC. This together with our involvement in the mobilisation of the growing anti cuts union organisations in the communities will be crucial if we are to defeat every threatened job cut and every threatened service cut.

DEFEND THE NHS

Our National Health Service under the mis named Government White Paper "Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS" is to be further privatised and seriously downsized with workers now facing attacks on pay, conditions and national and collective agreements. Working class communities will be confronted with the nightmare of a reduction in services that the NHS will no longer undertake. Hinchingbrooke hospital in Cambridgeshire is the first NHS hospital to be transferred completely to a profiteering private company.

NO TO PAY RESTRAINT

The attempts by those who would have us accept pay restraint, in reality pay cuts, has to be resisted. Pay freezes and the forgoing of incremental pay uplifts for spurious, localised "agreements" to avoid compulsory redundancies is a dangerous trap and must be opposed! In reality this ends up with the worst of both worlds. The employers are already on the offensive and pushing down bandings all over the place while trusts have no money for redundancies anyway!

MAKE THE BOSSES AND BANKERS PAY

But these threatened brutal attacks are neither necessary nor inevitable and UNISON at National level needs to be saying that loudly and clearly to its membership, the employers and the predatory profiteers now circling above.

This crisis that originated with the bankers is being used ideologically to try and grab back the past won gains of our movement. The UKs debt is nothing to do with us and everything to do with the employers and the unmitigated chaos of their unplanned capitalist system.

LEARNING FROM THE YOUTH

The inspirational movement of young students against the attacks on the right to education holds valuable lessons for the labour movement. Many of these students have generalised their experience into opposition to all cuts including participating in RMT picket lines on strike days. To thrive and survive UNISON must attract radicalising young people if we are to reinvigorate our organisation.

UNITY IS STRENGTH-FOR NATIONAL ACTION FOR JOBS PAY AND SERVICES

If elected to the NEC I will vigorously campaign for the ideas outlined above. The attack on the welfare state is at the same time the opportunity to break out of the old ways of doing things; to take the campaigning initiative on a nationwide basis in defence of our hard won democratic rights and to champion the politics of social need over private greed.

The nomination period opens on 11^th January and closes on 18th February 2011. I hope that your branch will nominate me. Also please nominate Kate Ahrens, John Malcolm and Shona Greig in the other health seats.

Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about my candidature or my views on any issue within the union.

Fraternally

Len Hockey