One thing inevitably lost in the coverage of the case of the four Unison activists banned from office after criticising the union’s leadership is the contribution they made to their local media.

As a former chief reporter who covered Bromley for a south east London weekly, one of my reliable contacts was Glenn Kelly, the local council’s Unison branch secretary.

I can attest to the fact that, as you would expect from a socialist, he worked tirelessly to protect and promote the rights and interests of council workers and service users. My former colleagues who covered Greenwich would say the same about Onay Kasab.

As well as fighting for their members’ terms and conditions, they always ensured Unison’s concerns and campaigns were kept in the public eye, bringing to wider notice important issues that might otherwise have gone unreported.

I have no doubt that they have significantly contributed to raising the public perception of workers at those two councils over the years. And as a result of their work, the public is also more informed about the consequences of outsourcing and cost-cutting in local government.

Crucially, again as you’d expect from socialists, they always acted with integrity in their dealings with us as journalists. This of course not only made them trustworthy sources – both on and off the record – but raised the profile of trade unionism, which can only have had a positive effect on our chapel.

The Unison leadership must be aware how well served workers, service users and the wider public have been by these long-standing activists, which makes this ruling even more troubling.

It is not just these activists’ contributions to building a fighting union at grassroots level that is at stake here. Glenn and other trade unionists like him recognise the power of the press and the benefits of keeping in close contact with journalists, particularly in local media.

While the Unison leadership have blatantly sought to rid themselves, at least for a few years, of four activists who provided a visible and vocal counterpoint to New Labour orthodoxy, Prentis and his allies also risk undermining the ability of the union to communicate effectively with the public its members serve.

This is not just an attack on militant trade unionism and socialism; on a wider level it has implications for accountability and democracy in local government.

Supporters of the four activists will be protesting outside Unison headquarters in Mabledon Place, London, at 12pm on Thursday 30 July.

To donate to the campaign make cheques payable to ‘Stop the witch-hunt’ and post to: Defend the Four campaign, PO Box 858, London, E11 1YG.

The campaign is also asking for messages of protest to be posted to Unison HQ or emailed to general secretary Dave Prentis d.prentis@unison.co.uk

Send copies of protest statements to the campaign postal address above or info@stopthewitchhunt.org.uk

Posted by Rich Simcox

Tags: Glenn Kelly, journalism, Onay Kasab, protest, solidarity, Unison