UNIONS GEAR UP FOR CAPITAL POLL

Public services have emerged as the key issue for trade unionists in this month's historic London elections.

Unions have been gearing up for this month's London poll which will produce the capital's first directly elected mayor and a separately elected 25-member assembly. The election of mayor and assembly, which together will make up the Greater London Assembly (GLA), is on 4 May and the GLA will come into operation on 3 July.

The vast majority of union members in London voted to support Livingstone in his attempt to become Labour's mayoral candidate. However, most national unions that are affiliated to the Labour Party will not be supporting him as an independent. The rule books of most unions affiliated to the Labour Party do not allow them to back anyone other than the official Labour candidate.

The T&G general union, whose members backed Livingstone by 85.8% in the selection process, said that it would not back Livingstone as an independent and will give its support to Frank Dobson. General secretary Bill Morris said: "Transport, crime and social inequality will not be adequately addressed by an individual working in isolation to the Labour government. London needs a Labour mayor working with a Labour government to address the problems of the capital city."

Some London regions of unions, however, are taking a different approach. The London region of public services union UNISON has launched a manifesto for London's public services, which it has sent to all the candidates standing in the mayoral election. It is encouraging London members to "vote for the candidates that best represent the union's objectives of putting quality public services at the top of the agenda for the mayor and the assembly", even though the union is backing Dobson at national level.

The UNISON manifesto calls for:

* a new deal for NHS staff though the negotiation of better terms and conditions of service and improvements to safety and well-being at work;

* an end to crisis management and under-funding in local government and the continued privatisation of local government services;

* a minimum wage of £5 per hour;

* keeping services public by opposing the private finance initiative (PFI) as a means of funding health care and local government services;

* tackling racism and discrimination in public services; and

* affordable housing, closer to work, through a commitment to build new affordable social housing, made available to public sector workers.

Both Livingstone and Dobson's manifestos take up some of these themes, but not all.

On racism and discrimination in public services, Livingstone has commitments to take a personal lead in the campaign to recruit and retain more black police officers, and to set up a task force to look at disproportionate underachievement and school exclusions among children from black and minority ethnic communities.

On the NHS, he says he will meet the health secretary within a month of taking office to discuss NHS funding in London and put the case for more resources for London's hospitals.

And on affordable housing he says he will support the emergency package of extra resources which London's councils have requested from the government, including an extra £900 million to provide 15,000 more affordable homes.

Dobson, meanwhile, has pledged to provide 10,000 affordable new homes for nurses, teachers and police officers. He also has a commitment to establish a task force to tackle black and Asian unemployment, and says that "fighting racism will be at the core of every policy initiative I make".

Chris Humphries, UNISON's London regional secretary, told Labour Research that the region also plans to take 100 poster sites across London with the slogan "Don't waste your vote - London needs quality public services". This will also appear as an advertisement in the London newspapers Metro and the Evening Standard, and will be sent to 100,000 London UNISON members as a postcard.

However, there has been direct backing for Livingstone in some of the London regions of unions, particularly those whose members are working in public services. For example, the London region of the Fire Brigades' Union (FBU) took a decision to back Livingstone, although it was advised by the union at national level that this was in contravention of union policy and that financial assistance could only be made in a personal capacity.

Acting regional chair Ross Neal told Labour Research that Livingstone, as leader of the Greater London Council (GLC), had a record of reinstating funding that had been taken away by the Tories.

Rail union RMT's London Transport Regional Council (LTRC), which represents tube workers in the capital, has also declared support for Livingstone. Bobby Law, regional organiser of the LTRC, told Labour Research that, although union rules mean that money from union funds cannot be used for the Livingstone campaign, the LTRC is fundraising and providing other support.

For London RMT members, the issue of the future of the Underground is obviously a major issue. The union is "unequivocally opposed to the private public partnership" being proposed by the Labour government and supported by Dobson.

The Greater London Assembly (GLA)

The GLA will be responsible for implementing London-wide strategies across the 32 London boroughs and the City of London in eight main areas - transport, planning, economic development and regeneration, the environment, the police, fire and emergency planning, culture and public health. The day-to-day running of services will remain with the London boroughs.

There will be a staff of 400, some of whom will come from existing organisations, such as the London Ecology Unit and the London Research Centre, that will be absorbed into the GLA once it comes into being. It will also inherit funding of around £3.6 billion from existing government programmes which it will take over concerning the police, fire, transport, and economic development and regeneration. It will receive a new government grant to help cover the cost of the mayor, assembly and new staff. The GLA's budget will be set by ministers and will be around £35 million for 2000-2001.

The role of the mayor

The mayor will be directly elected every four years, and initially be paid £84,385 a year. He or she will provide a voice for London and represent and promote London at home and abroad.

The mayor will set the budget for the GLA and four new bodies: Transport for London, London Development Agency, Metropolitan Police Authority and London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. He or she will make appointments to these bodies, and will control the first two.

The major will also devise strategies and action plans to tackle London-wide issues including transport, economic development and regeneration, air quality, noise, waste, biodiversity, planning and culture and publish a regular report on the state of the environment in London.

The role of the assembly

The assembly will be made up of 25 members, each of whom will initially be paid £34,438 a year. The assembly will scrutinise the mayor's actions and provide a check and balance on the mayor, with powers to amend the mayor's budget by a two thirds majority.

The assembly will appoint most of the GLA staff and provide members to serve on the police authority, the fire and emergency planning authority and, if the mayor decides, the London Development Authority. The mayor will chose a deputy mayor from among the assembly's ranks. The assembly will have the power to summon the mayor and senior staff of the GLA, the four functional bodies, and other bodies in receipt of a grant or in a contractual relationship with the authority. In addition, it will investigate issues of London-wide significance and make proposals to the mayor.