Trade unions recovery

The trade union movement is in turmoil.

The port workers' reluctance to accept the GWU leadership to negotiate the port reform on their behalf, the resignation of the assistant general secretary of the UHM and the recently announced surprise resignation of the CMTU president are only symptoms of the tragic state of affairs that our workers' organisations are going through.

We have a trade union movement still well entrenched in the public sector (which is shrinking in size), yet with fewer than 35 per cent membership in the private sector (which is expected to expand). And although the bigger industrial unions continue to lose members as, according to them, manufacturing jobs are taking the route to European eastern countries and China, smaller professional service and specialist unions acquire new members and grow quite steadily, as reported recently by the National Statistics Office. Is this triumph or disaster for the trade unions?

On an international level, trade unions are still striving to find their counter balanced response to the challenges offered by the phenomenon of globalisation. Trade unions have not yet managed to get off the ground in order to secure their relevance in today's labour market's rapid changes and they are experiencing continuous threats to their existence.

In one of his publications commissioned by The Work Foundation, David Metcalf outlines the extent of the challenge facing the British trade union movement. In 1979 there were 13 million union members; today there are just seven million. He says it is possible to argue that trade unions were a 20th century phenomenon. The difficulty lies in the removal of two of the traditional weapons the union boasted in pre-Thatcher days: the closed shop (no union card meant no job) and the ability to call strikes on an almost arbitrary basis. These reforms lost the unions much of their bargaining power. And as employers tore up recognition agreements or hired non-union staff on greenfield sites, there was less reason for people to join.

The UK experience is quite similar to ours. The government's adoption of liberal policies in the economic, political and social spheres, the private sector's leading role in our domestic business and commercial activities, and modern trends in the labour market have taken our trade union movement by surprise. Our trade unions are not effectively geared to face these challenges and get their message through to the workforce.

Trade unions still wield the sword of justice in the workplace. They narrow the distribution of pay, promote equal opportunities and family-friendly policies, lower the rate of industrial injuries and handle grievances. However, their membership decline is not inevitable. It's their relevance that is at stake. Judging by the way some of the general secretaries speak and the negative tone of so many of their speeches, you would think we were still in the 1970s. Who would want to be associated with people who always seem to be on the losing side and who are always complaining? Why should a business deal with unions unless it has to?

Trade unions should take the advice of the general secretary of the British TUC, Brendan Barber. He suggests that most people at work want to be respected by their employer, and they are not attracted by the idea of a confrontational relationship. There are a lot of fair-minded employers, so the style needs to adjust to that. The future of trade unionism is, of course, tackling injustice where there are bad employers and real exploitation is taking place, but also being seen as part of the formula to build organisations that are commercially and competitively successful, in difficult market areas, and not just as something to be tolerated. That has to be part of our ambition as well. "We've got the evidence to show that unions make a positive difference in building successful organisations. We're not just a drag".

Trade unions need a clear break with the past. They have to start thinking radically about their culture, their structures and how they present themselves to large numbers of people who have never had any contact with them before. They could regain workers' confidence if they promote an ambitious agenda that has to do with the realities of the workplace. Even unions that prefer to identify themselves in a militant or aggressive way would still admit that with employers it's all about maintaining a good relationship that delivers success for the organisation while ensuring high standards for the workers. It is no coincidence that small professional or specialised unions, unlike the traditional industrial general unions, are focusing on their core professional strengths and trying to provide an altogether different, more modern version of trade union membership.

The cult of resignations and the no confidence vote have spiralled upwards from the shopfloor to the trade unions' leadership quarters. It demonstrates that our general trade unions are facing the red card. That, in itself, is a major cause for serious concern. The adverse ripple effects would be tragically harmful for our workers. There would not be an independent channel for people to have a voice at work, helping them get on as well as get even. Collective bargaining would be abandoned and social dialogue at all levels would be deserted.

Trade unions have no other option but to undertake a recovery plan of action. The prevailing socio-economic scenario, with slow economic growth, somewhat high level of unemployment, an increase in part-time jobs, low participation of women at work and the social disturbances we are experiencing at the moment might not help kick-start the process of change but, on the other hand, it could serve as a motivator to get our trade unions back on track.

Instead of holding council meetings to cover up the wave of membership apathy, resignations and no confidence votes, trade unions should join forces and come up with the formulation of a more modern version of trade unionism through the setting up of a national forum of trade unions. If our major unions persist in evading this possibility and stick to the status quo, then they are doomed to bring their own demise in the very near future.

Now is the time for recovery!

micallefemmanuel@yahoo.co.uk