The Stage

Ditching democracy?

Published Monday 1 February 2010 at 18:15

Seemingly, only the few members attending Equity branch meetings or attending a committee to which they have been elected will vote in the ‘consultation’ being conducted on potential changes to the Annual Representative Conference format.

ARC has a policy-making, administration-considering role at which, unless there is too much on the agenda, it is usually possible for the representatives to make heard the concerns and opinions of those they are representing.

This should not be allowed to continue, last year’s representatives decided.

A duly appointed task force has now presented a list of questions that invites a minimum number of voters to consider how membership input into an ARC agenda and freedom of speech can be minimised.

One suggestion among many is that only half of the committees and branches are allowed to put forward a motion each year. Isn’t that actually a two-year wait for half the union’s members to heard and a very effective way of decimating members’ participation?

Another suggestion is that something else could be done at ARC, but what that might be is not clear.

A further question asks if motions relating to existing policy could be deleted, which would effectively stop discussion such as “why isn’t existing policy followed?”.

In this ‘consultation’ with around 52 or so groups, possibly less than 3% of union members are likely to be consulted - 3% to indicate what watered down style of access to policy and decision-making they will allow the 97% to have in future. If that doesn’t ditch democratic decision-making, what does?

If there is any genuine need for change, the entire membership should be consulted to determine, from a widespread potential content, the agenda format for ARC.

Roy Radford

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