Clause 10 of the trade union bill, if it is passed, will mean trade unions will only be able to collect contributions to their political funds from members who actively opt in by written notice. This is a big change from what currently happens, where union members (except in Northern Ireland) automatically pay into the political fund but are given the chance to opt out.
It is not difficult to predict what would happen if this change does go through. You only have to look at the tiny percentage of members from Northern Ireland who pay into the Musicians’ Union’s political fund compared to the vast majority of those who do from England, Scotland and Wales.
It is not a case of members not wishing to pay into a political fund. Previous ballots on whether or not the MU should maintain a political fund have regularly come in at around 75 per cent in favour, and there is no reason to believe that members in Northern Ireland have a particularly different view. But opting in requires the member to have read and understood what they need to do, and it also takes more effort and time than not opting in.
So, if the number of members paying into union political funds dramatically reduces, what effect is that likely to have?
It will, of course, affect the amount of money that the MU, affiliated since 1943, is able to donate to the Labour party. Contrary to popular belief, however, the MU’s political fund does not all go to the Labour party. In reality, affiliation to the Labour party accounts for just under half of the fund. The rest is spent on other political activity which is vitally important in protecting musicians’ rights and livelihoods.
Lobbying ministers, members of parliament and members of the European parliament on behalf of our members is something that the MU does every day – and it really does yield results. In the past few years alone, the MU’s lobbying has helped to bring about:
- The Live Music Act
- Copyright term extension
- European parliament legislation to make it easier for musicians to take their instruments on planes
- The Digital Economy Act
- The Beijing Treaty, which secured audiovisual rights for performers
On a day-to-day basis, we continue to press politicians on issues such as funding for arts and culture, fair payment for musicians and protection of copyright. As a result of this lobbying, the MU has some very good and loyal friends among British MPs of all political persuasions.
The MU lobbies on its own for issues specific to musicians, but we also work with other performer groups on broader issues. The MU’s political fund pays our share of the cost of running the Performers’ Alliance all-party parliamentary group and also helps to pay for its coordinator.
The parliamentary group has gone from strength to strength over recent years. We run yearly receptions in parliament where MU members are able to come to parliament and put their opinions direct to the politicians. In past years ministers and shadow ministers have always attended this event to hear for themselves about the issues facing musicians today. The group also holds meetings with key decision-makers throughout the year.
One of the major achievements of the APPG is that it is genuinely cross-party – something which is extremely rare for a trade union parliamentary group. Our officers consist of two Labour MPs, one Conservative MP, one Liberal Democrat lord and a Scottish National party MP. The membership is made up of 72 MPs and peers from all political parties. We are therefore able to call on political friends from all persuasions to help us achieve our lobbying successes mentioned above.
In addition to lobbying, the political fund also pays for any other activity that is deemed to be ‘political’. Thanks to the political fund, therefore, the MU is able to donate to anti-fascist organisations such as Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism. We are also able to support our trade union brothers and sisters by affiliating to Justice for Colombia and the Campaign for Trade Union Freedom among others.
The political fund, in short, allows the MU to be political – with both a small p and a capital P. It gives us the right to have a voice and to put forward the case for musicians to the decision-makers in this country and abroad, and it makes a real difference.
The trade union bill could change all of that, and if it does it will be to the detriment not just of the Labour party, but also to professional musicians across the country.
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Isabelle Gutierrez is head of government relations and public affairs at the Musicians’ Union
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