INTERVIEW: TSSA general secretary GERRY DOHERTY explains why he fears a difficult period for trade unionism.
Louise Nousratpour
Monday May 19, 2008
The Morning Star
GERRY Doherty is preparing his union for a bumpy ride. As the economic crisis hits workers' pockets and support for the Labour Party falls to a record low, the general secretary of transport union TSSA believes that trade unions face a tough test in the next few years.
The disastrous local election results put Labour behind the Lib Dems with just 23 per cent share of the votes.
"May 1 was the day the new Labour project finally came to an end," says Doherty as we sit and talk at his union's annual conference in Scarborough.
"I think we need to prepare and consolidate our strength in the labour movement. We must prepare for a much more hostile environment in two years time, because I don't believe Labour can turn the votes around in time for the next general election," he warns.
Doherty, who is a Labour Party member, comes from a working-class background and cut his teeth as a trade unionist in Glasgow.
He first got actively involved in the movement in the wake of Margaret Thatcher's 1979 election and her vicious onslaught on workers, in particular the miners.
Today, Doherty is convinced that Labour will lose the next election.
"I just hope it doesn't take another 18 years before it gets back into power," he adds wryly.
To reverse the party's fortunes, Doherty believes that Labour needs to drop its unpopular policies of privatisation and illegal wars and start listening to its core supporters in the movement.
"I think the Iraq war was a mistake. We need to put that to bed and bring back the troops," he says, adding that other trade union policies such as renationalisation of the railways resonate with public opinion.
"Around 67 per cent of the population want the rail network back in public hands. Now, why would you not include such a policy in your election manifesto?" he asks with an air of frustration. "It's just nonsense."
So, why did the TSSA back Gordon Brown's leadership campaign and Peter Hain's deputy leadership contest last year when it was clear that neither would back rail nationalisation?
Doherty defends the decision, insisting that the union's executive committee had to "do the best it could given the choices. We acted in the best interest of our members."
But delegates at last week's Scarborough conference accused the leadership of breaking union rules by ignoring members' wishes expressed in a resolution last year.
The executive committee accepted the criticism, but it explained that the leadership contest had been a "one-horse race" and that none of the deputy leadership candidates had a policy on nationalising the railways.
Anglia delegate Malcolm Wallace countered that deputy leadership candidate Jon Cruddas had backed rail renationalisation and even promised to work with the TSSA to achieve this objective.
So, why didn't TSSA support Cruddas over Hain?
"We interviewed all the deputy candidates," Doherty recalls. "Five were Cabinet ministers and only Cruddas did not have any Cabinet responsibility, so he could say whatever he liked.
"We backed Hain because we wanted to support somebody who had influence in Parliament and could argue our case inside the Cabinet - if not publicly, then privately."
Another controversial debate at last week's conference was Labour Party funding. Delegates agreed that any funding over and above the mandatory affiliation fees should be "directly linked to a commitment to implement democratically agreed Labour Party policies."
Doherty, who opposed the motion along with the rest of the executive committee, insists that this would amount to "buying policies" from the government.
He argues: "The Tories would love this. Finally, they'll have 'proof' that the unions are demanding cash-for-policy and their support must be restricted.
"Besides, we are a small union and, if we attach strings to funding, we will risk losing the influence we now have in the Labour Party."
To achieve the union's objectives, including rail renationalisation, Doherty believes that TSSA must focus on cultivating a strong workplace presence and beef up its industrial muscle.
"The TSSA must address declining membership to survive as an independent union," warns Doherty, who was re-elected in April to serve a second five-year term.
As part of its strategy to address the problem, the union launched its first national conference for union reps and lay members last year. It was designed to get them involved in the decision-making process.
"I realised then that I didn't know 80 per cent of these people," Doherty recalls. "What this tells me is that we have active members out there, but we need to reach out to them for they are the future.
"They can deliver the union's standards and values in the workplace and help us recruit young members."
Despite the gloomy predictions and membership concerns, Doherty is confident that TSSA is ready to take on future challenges.
"The TSSA has got off its knees in recent years," he declares proudly. "Although it only has 1 per cent share in government influence, it punches well above its weight.
"We are working with all the other transport unions," he says in response to a question about his union's industrial relationship with the RMT, which takes a more militant approach and is Britain's fastest-growing union.
"Personally, I have a very good relationship with Bob Crow," he insists, adding: "Bosses love to use the tactic of divide and rule - well, they are not going to divide us and they are not going to rule us."
He advises unorganised workers: "Join a union, get off your knees and stand up for your rights."
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