tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/tuc-11577/articlesTUC – The Conversation2018-06-27T14:19:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/987112018-06-27T14:19:20Z2018-06-27T14:19:20ZUnions need a renaissance – here’s what could happen under Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour<p>The <a href="https://tuc150.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc-150/">Trades Union Congress (TUC)</a> is celebrating its 150th anniversary at a time of great pressure for workers’ rights. It was founded in Manchester in 1868 as the collective voice for organised labour. Today, its strapline is <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/">“changing the world of work for good”</a>. The anniversary is an opportunity to reflect upon how the TUC, along with its union affiliates, can adapt to the considerable current challenges it faces in seeking to change the world of work for good. </p>
<p>As part of the labour and union movement, the TUC has played a major part in winning historic victories on pay, hours and conditions for workers. Wages are higher and conditions better for <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10860017/Union-members-4000-a-year-better-off-government-report-suggests.html">unionised workers</a> than those not in a union. But since 1979, and even with Labour governments between 1997 and 2010, the worth of the victories has been eroded, if not quite undone. Job losses, long working hours, pensioner poverty and gender discrimination at work are still serious problems. There are many reasons why the TUC is still needed. </p>
<p>But to “change the world of work for good”, the TUC needs to recreate the power it previously wielded to right these wrongs. Otherwise, it is just a bystander and one voice among many. The scale of the task is underlined by the similarity of labour market conditions in 2018 to those in <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/our-history">1868</a>, especially with regard to low pay, insecure work and the working poor. </p>
<p>There have always been two ways for workers to exercise influence – through the industrial and political arenas. Politically, the times are more auspicious now than they have been for a generation. Having Jeremy Corbyn at the head of Labour party after a better than expected performance in the 2017 general election means a government more in line with TUC policies has never been closer than since the early 1990s.</p>
<h2>Tough times for unions</h2>
<p>Whether Labour is elected to office or not, the TUC and <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/TUC_Directory_2018_0.pdf">its 49 affiliated unions comprising 5.5m</a> members have to be able to grow and prosper. But <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/712543/TU_membership_bulletin.pdf">membership, as of 2017, is half of what it was in 1979</a>. It is also that there are some almost non-union parts of the economy. So, these same figures show that the private sector has a union density of just 13.5%, less than 10% of young workers are members, density is highest (40%) among older workers who will retire in the medium term, and with a growing workforce even if absolute membership remains stable, union density still falls. </p>
<p>Members are also becoming less assertive. Last year saw just 79 strikes in the UK and the lowest number of workers involved in them since <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/workplacedisputesandworkingconditions/articles/labourdisputes/2017">records began in 1893</a>. The restrictions introduced in 2016 via the <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/15/contents/enacted">Trade Union Act</a> might have made the situation worse but they cannot account for the existing trend of falling strike levels since the 1990s.</p>
<p>So what can be done? The TUC is developing <a href="http://www.scottishleftreview.org/feature/changing-the-world-of-work-for-good/">plans to specifically target young workers for recruitment</a>, but this will take time to come to fruition. The same is true of the encouraging signs of younger workers in <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-striking-mcdonalds-workers-are-taking-on-the-fast-food-giant-83260">McDonald’s</a> and <a href="http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/tgi-fridays-hit-with-fourth-friday-of-strikes-in-a-row/">TGI Friday’s</a> striking to assert their interests.</p>
<p>Recent initiatives suggest that the two problems can be addressed together. Unions can increase both membership and assertiveness in a virtuous upward spiral. In its recent pension dispute, the <a href="https://www.ucu.org.uk/">University and College Union</a>, like other unions, found standing up against employers through striking brings in many recruits – over the last year, <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/strike-action-boosts-ucu-membership">UCU membership grew by 16,000</a>.</p>
<p>So more individual strikes would be beneficial but these cannot be magicked out of thin air. Neither can a return to the periods of mass strikes (like the late 1910s) which brought huge increases in membership. </p>
<h2>Membership by default</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ilj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/indlaw/dwy005/5040332">recently published paper</a>, a number of academics proposed a union default system. Britain’s system is a non-union default. Workers have to expressly choose to join – and can be dissuaded from doing so by employers and governments. </p>
<p>Under a union default, all workers are automatically members. This is not compulsory membership or closed shop by the backdoor because workers have the right to opt out. The right to be the default union is secured by passing a support threshold. This would bring with it the right to bargain over pay and conditions. By law, employers would have no role to play in choosing the union.</p>
<p>Most workers would not opt out because there is unmet demand for union representation and workers would quickly see the tangible collective benefits of membership on their pay and conditions. The default system would lead unions to be stronger and better resourced as well as enabling the more difficult to organise sectors to be organised. </p>
<p>Only this union default system is capable of creating a level playing field for unions to bargain upon with employers. Otherwise, unions will always be at a disadvantage of having insufficient resources and reach to organise the vast majority of workers who are now non-union, as well as bargain successfully for them. </p>
<p>Under Corbyn, Labour has already adopted the radical <a href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/manifesto-labour-law-towards-comprehensive-revision-workers%E2%80%99-rights">Manifesto for Labour Law</a>, which sets out major reforms for workers’ rights, including strengthening union representation. A union default could be added to the list. If the TUC and unions can make sure that the next Labour general election manifesto contains these reforms and a union default system as well as ensuring that Labour is elected to government, they will have shown how working to make combined advances in both the industrial and political arenas can make the overall outcome greater the sum of its parts. Only then can they be protected from the current system of neo-liberal capitalism and employer dominance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregor Gall is director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation, editor of the Scottish Left Review, co-editor of Scottish Labour History and a member of the UCU union.</span></em></p>Often portrayed as an old plodding cart house, can the TUC become agile again?Gregor Gall, Affiliate Research Associate, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/651832016-09-12T10:43:37Z2016-09-12T10:43:37ZHow relevant are the TUC and unions today?<p>As the Trades Union Congress (TUC) meets in the city of Brighton <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/congress-2016">for its 148th annual gathering</a>, it faces, in one way or another, the same challenge that it has essentially had for the last 40 years. This is to increase union membership and then to wield the resources this gives in a powerful way. The aim: protect members’ interests in the face of hostile employers and governments. </p>
<p>The TUC is the major federation for organised labour in Britain and still comprises the overwhelming majority of unions and their memberships. Very few significant unions stand outside it. But the TUC is facing quite a few problems.</p>
<p>Membership <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3526917.stm">has fallen</a> from just over 12m in 1980 to 6.4m in 2005 and 5.8m in 2015. Of course, membership numbers are not the whole story. It is what is done with membership – or what members do themselves – that is equally, if not more, important. The most obvious measure of this is the resultant power from using their main weapon: striking. </p>
<p>The TUC has only ever organised one general strike in its long history – in 1926 to support the striking miners. The strike was not a success after it was called off after nine days and excluded many groups from participating. The next time the TUC called for a general strike was over the Conservative government’s Industrial Relations Act 1971. It did not need to call the strike as the government backed down before the appointed day.</p>
<p>With the arrival of Thatcherism in 1979, the TUC talked tough and promised in 1982 to organise a something akin to a general strike <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36475846?versionId=46968508">to oppose the new government’s anti-union legislation</a>. Nothing came of this or the demand from certain unions for a general strike to support the striking miners <a href="http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/1167">during their epic battle in 1984-85</a>.</p>
<p>Since the age of austerity beckoned after the financial crash of 2007-08, the TUC’s main mode of action has only been to call demonstrations and pass a motion in 2013 which mandated it to examine the legal and logistical challenges in mounting a general strike. </p>
<p>So at the times of greatest need, the TUC has not exactly stepped up to the plate nor covered itself in glory. </p>
<h2>The challenge today</h2>
<p>Today, the TUC and union movement in general face the challenge of organising in a world of work that has similarities to earlier years but with some fundamental differences. Work and employment still, as ever, take place under capitalism. But the way work is organised has radically shifted. </p>
<p>The “gig economy” is now the most obvious example of how the “proletariat” – with regular, secure, full-time employment – has increasingly been changed into a <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-precariat-9781849664561/">“precariat”</a>, which is dependent upon insecure and irregular work. </p>
<p>Nowhere is this more apparent than in delivery companies in London using couriers and drivers to ferry documents and meals around the streets of the capital. These workers are not even offered “zero hour contracts” because they are not technically employed by the companies they carry out the work for. Instead, they are self-employed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/05/self-employed-freedom-underpaid-contractors">“independent contractors”</a>. </p>
<p>With self-employment, the workers are not eligible for sick pay, holiday pay and have to pay their own national insurance. They also have to pay for their own means of transport and the cost of running this, as well as their means of communication (like mobile phones). They are not guaranteed a minimum level of work <a href="https://www.das.co.uk/the-monitor/legal-and-market-updates/bike-courier-legal-case-could-redefine-self-employed-status">or a minimum level of earnings</a>.</p>
<h2>Being bold and assertive</h2>
<p>This might offer some flexibility for some but for others it equates to unfair and exploitative work. And for those that want to protest their treatment, it has been a fledgling, tiny non-TUC union that has set the pace in standing up for their situation. The Independent Workers of Great Britain (IWGB), <a href="https://iwgb.org.uk/how-we-began/">established in 2012</a>, has quietly been winning higher and fairer payments at a series of courier companies in London, through a series of flashmob actions and social media campaigns.</p>
<p>The union <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/543197/814T_2015.pdf">has just 1,000 members</a>, but it successfully mobilised them <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/16/deliveroo-announces-it-will-not-force-new-contracts-on-workers">to fight a recent contract change by Deliveroo</a> and shown what a bold and assertive minnow of a union could do in contrast to the more conservative, longstanding and bigger counterparts that form part of the TUC.</p>
<p>Gig economy workers are believed to be difficult to organise, as they work alone and are in competition with each other for work – so any compulsion to band together is undermined. Yet at Deliveroo the introduction of a new payment structure showed how a collective grievance could be turned into a springboard to successful collective action.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"765646064426819584"}"></div></p>
<p>Deliveroo’s new proposed structure increased the amount paid to workers per delivery but it removed the hourly guaranteed earnings. Couriers saw this as an attempt to reduce their income. After six days of increasingly well reported and energetic protests outside the company’s London headquarters, Deliveroo agreed to only introduce the new payment structure in a limited number of pilot areas and to maintain the existing payment structure. The success of this collective action then inspired couriers at rival UberEATS in London <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/25/ubereats-couriers-strike/">to protest in a similar fashion</a> when the company began to remove its bonus system of payments. </p>
<p>The couriers applied pressure on Deliveroo in the form of damage to its brand and reputation in the eyes of customers and investors through their social media activities. But it was the old-fashioned nature of collective action that halted and disrupted the operations of the business that was critical to explaining its success. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137357/original/image-20160912-3763-1lwz1u0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Solo operator.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jblndl/25739651164/in/photolist-Fdwrx3-uN9wcE-EHD7g5-HFwVYA-uGdzCe-HFwVzu-HFwWah-uFwMcY-HFwVx5-HFwVH5-HFwVvS-HFwVJh-HFwVy7-HFwVbJ-HFwVU7-HFwVP7-HFwWtU-HFwVpE-HFwVeu-zKS7u4-HFwVdN-HFwW4q-HFwW19-Hj8t1J-HFwW7G-HFwWru-HFwUYu-HFwUZG-HFwWgE-upoyE1-HFwV49-tJXYKE-HFwVDC-upwJPp-Hj8t8s-AGJfDD-AGMAYR-HFwVgU-HFwVkw-JthCv5-AEtJUu-GNSn7M-HFwVhA-AHLMMg-HFwVts-AGMkEp-zKK64o-HFwVuu-HFwV3h-zKKR4s">Môsieur J/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Traditional strike action requires giving notice to employers before taking place. But because Deliveroo workers are technically not employees, they can legally strike without giving any official notice – what’s traditionally known as a “wildcat strike” because it can take employers by surprise.</p>
<p>So while there is mileage in social media campaigns and protests (as practised by the IWGB, as well as the much bigger and older Unite and the GMB unions) and in changing employment law by taking cases to employment tribunals (as again the IWGB, Unite and the GMB are doing), only the IWGB stuck its neck out to make the seemingly impossible possible – mobilising self-employed workers, scarred by their insecurity, to fight for their rights in well-organised collective action.</p>
<p>This should be a lesson that is well studied by the TUC because it holds the seeds of what could reawaken organised labour. Ninety years on from the failed <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13828537">1926 general strike</a>, it is a lesson that needs to be learned and implemented quickly if the TUC is to re-establish itself as a strong and vibrant collective force for workers in Britain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregor Gall does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A century on from the UK’s only ever general strike, the major federation for organised labour in Britain must learn to be more effective.Gregor Gall, Professor of Industrial Relations, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/466572015-09-15T13:38:07Z2015-09-15T13:38:07ZUnions rally to support young people in precarious jobs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94524/original/image-20150911-1569-1nlcmr1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new precariat. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supermarket via wavebreakmedia via www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Young people have had a <a href="http://www.unionhome.org.uk/?p=475">hard time</a> during the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/22/youth-unemployment-jobless-figure">Youth unemployment</a> spiked and has only recently started coming down again. But the headline of unemployment hid other, longer-standing challenges facing young people in their efforts to find a job. Over recent decades it has taken young people <a href="http://soc.sagepub.com/content/42/1/119.abstract">longer to find secure work</a>, and more and more of them have typically experienced periods of instability moving in and out of low-hours, low-paid jobs, or cycling between “<a href="http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/low-pay-no-pay-cycle">low pay and no pay</a>”. </p>
<p>As a result, young workers are far less likely to be members of unions. In response, the <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/">Trades Union Congress</a> (TUC) and its member unions have been working on a strategy to campaign around issues of interest to young people both in their work and with wider issues such as housing. They are due to report their progress so far to their annual conference in Brighton this week. </p>
<p>The mechanisms that previously helped young people find decent jobs have gradually been breaking down. The provision and quality of careers guidance is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-in-schools-going-in-the-right-direction">patchy</a> and advice provided to unemployed young people is driven by a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/25/jobcentre-newsletter-sanctions-targets">culture of targets</a> for job applications, no matter whether the jobs applied for offer appropriate opportunities for training and development. </p>
<p>Politicians have <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-kick-starts-plans-to-reach-3-million-apprenticeships">trumpeted apprenticeships</a> as a way to address these acknowledged problems, but time and time again, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11734744/Lack-of-high-quality-apprenticeships-fueling-numeracy-and-literacy-problems-says-CBI.html">evaluations</a> show that although some offer good quality training and a route to a career path, this is by no means always true.</p>
<h2>The growing precariat</h2>
<p>As a result, young workers are increasingly finding themselves in low-skilled, low-paid and insecure work. They form a large part of the workforce in sectors such as hospitality, catering and retail where this kind of <a href="http://www.social-policy.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/King.pdf">precarious work</a> is common. </p>
<p>These occupations have long been the areas where many young people find their first jobs. But in the past there have been routes into management career paths in those sectors, or into jobs requiring higher skills and pay. Those “ladders” have been gradually dismantled because of the way the career structures have changed. Young people are increasingly expected to navigate complicated labour markets, moving between employers, rather than progressing gradually up an established career ladder. </p>
<p>Some of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/nov/22/interns-all-work-no-pay-internships">exploitative practices</a> that have long been common in sectors such as the creative industries have also spread into new areas including professional work such as banking and law. It has become increasingly common for young people to have to undertake low-paid – or sometimes unpaid – internships to gain work experience before landing their first jobs. </p>
<p>The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission recently <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ban-unpaid-internships-completely-says-social-mobility-commission-9796805.html">highlighted</a> how divisive this is as young people from wealthier backgrounds are able to afford to develop these opportunities while less advantaged young people are locked out because they are unable to afford to support themselves during these placements.</p>
<h2>Unions take up the cause</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, trade unions in the UK and elsewhere have become increasingly concerned about these developments and have started to explore what they might do to help young people fight for more and better jobs. Developing from campaigns like that run by the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) at <a href="https://www.bectu.org.uk/news/2227">Ritzy Cinemas</a> in Brixton, the TUC has developed a <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/about-tuc/young-workers/tuc-young-workers-organising-strategy">strategy</a> to support young workers and help them organise against unpaid work, zero-hours contracts, and many of the most extreme forms of exploitation they face.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94516/original/image-20150911-1575-ulxoh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Protests by workers at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MB3cky68/www.flickr.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>At its annual Congress, the TUC will hear examples of the kinds of campaigns run by individual unions. Innovative examples include work done by unions and community groups to promote the <a href="http://www.livingwage.org.uk/">Living Wage</a> in London and beyond. Another example is work done by the <a href="http://www.community-tu.org/">Community</a> union to regulate the quality of apprenticeship training by providing the training provision themselves. </p>
<p>The public sector unions have pushed to ensure agreements with employers about the <a href="http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/resources/learning_with_pcs/lifelong-learning--courses-and-information-for-members-and-help-with-learning/apprenticeships.cfm">quality of apprenticeships</a> and have helped focus attention on the job opportunities available to apprentices once they have finished their training. In the entertainment sector, BECTU and the Musicians Union are working hard to ensure that young people don’t feel pressured into <a href="https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2013/bectu-and-the-mu-call-for-action-over-unpaid-internships/">working for free</a>.</p>
<h2>Where unions cannot tread</h2>
<p>These are all really important initiatives in workplaces where unions have representation rights; however, many of the employers in sectors where young people face the worst working conditions do not bargain collectively. For that reason, unions around the world are uniting to put pressure on fast-food employers to pay decent wages with good working conditions. </p>
<p>In the US the <a href="http://fightfor15.org/">Fight for $15</a> has brought low-wage workers <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2015/apr/15/fight-for-15-protest-workers-minimum-wage-live">on to the streets</a> in large numbers. Even the traditionally well-organised unions in the Nordic countries are increasingly concerned about the <a href="http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/national-contributions/sweden/trade-union-strategies-to-recruit-new-groups-of-workers-sweden">challenges of representing young workers</a> in these jobs.</p>
<p>A new research project I’m involved with, funded by the <a href="http://www.boeckler.de/36912.htm">Hans-Böckler Institute</a> in Germany, is bringing together researchers from the UK together with teams in the US, Germany, France and the Netherlands to compare union initiatives and these developments across countries and sectors. </p>
<p>Our aim is to explore what makes for successful campaigning and bargaining to help improve young people’s working conditions and help them overcome the barriers and challenges they face as they enter the world of work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46657/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Simms receives funding from the Hans-Bockeler Institute, the British Academy, the European Commission, and the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p>Many young people are part of the precariat – in low-paid insecure work.Melanie Simms, Professor of Work and Employment, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/296032014-07-24T12:52:58Z2014-07-24T12:52:58ZTime for a clear-headed debate on the future of the public sector<p>Since the election of the coalition government in 2010, the UK has experienced a series of initiatives to reform the structure, funding and operation of the public sector. Under the umbrella of economic strategy based on cutting the deficit through austere reductions to public spending, the government has led a root-and-branch reform of public sector pensions. Most staff now have to work longer, pay in more, and receive less than <a href="http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Pensions/hutton_final_100311.pdf">they used to</a>.</p>
<p>This has been in parallel with either pay freezes or settlements <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/public-sector-pay-awards-for-2014-15">averaging 1%</a> against an average inflation rate in the past four years of 3%. In addition, significant changes in public sector structures – especially the NHS – and operational management has seen increases in workload. At the same time, the highly unionised workforce has seen its voice reduced, with senior managers given higher levels of decision-making powers along with higher salaries and reduced accountability. This was highlighed by the <a href="http://www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com/report">Francis Report</a> public inquiry into Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.</p>
<h2>Entrenched disputes</h2>
<p>As a result there have been long-running disputes on a number of issues. These have ranged from disputes over pensions by the Fire Brigades Union to others over pay by local government workers in UNISON, GMB, and UNITE and university staff in the University and College Union. Other unions have led action over workload, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-the-tables-turning-in-michael-goves-war-on-teacher-unions-25417">teachers in the National Union of Teachers</a>, while the Public and Commercial Services Union have had disputes across the board on pay, pensions, and workload. </p>
<p>The actual forms of industrial action have varied from one-day strikes at random intervals to two-hour strikes on the odd day, to overtime bans, action to <a href="http://www.midstaffspublicinquiry.com/report">only work to contracted hours</a>, and slightly longer stoppages. But there have been no all-out or general strikes as yet.</p>
<p>On July 10 there was a coming together of some of these groups – teachers, local government workers, firefighters, civil servants – in a very large stoppage (estimated at about 500,000) across the nation. News coverage was patchy – some local BBC radio reports were extremely sympathetic and full, whereas much of the national coverage was more hostile (especially to the teachers) and much more subdued. A <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28444916">second day of strikes</a> has been called for September 30.</p>
<p>In many ways the event was an important one. The unions showed in a very public manner that they are still here and can run a day of strike action. There was high visibility for their case; and there is initial evidence from <a href="http://local.teachers.org.uk/isleofwight/July10strike.cfm">unions such as the NUT</a> that as result there has been an increased membership. </p>
<p>In particular, the union case for more pay was contrasted both with the government’s tale of recovery and the high share of economic income going to an increasingly small but ever richer group – the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/28286264">gap between average earnings</a> and those of the highest executives is now 180 times greater.</p>
<h2>Political positioning</h2>
<p>In addition, the government was pushed onto the defensive, leading to <a href="https://theconversation.com/camerons-new-strike-laws-are-more-radical-than-margaret-thatchers-29457">talk of further restrictions</a> on the right to strike – not something required if striking really is futile. </p>
<p>The Labour leadership was unhelpfully silent on the issues and the July strike. Yet this is the moment in the election cycle that requires the Labour Party to create a picture of economic recovery based on growing wages and productivity linked with state investment in infrastructure, housing, and public services. </p>
<p>The strike day asked a real political question: what do our main political leaders consider to be the future of UK public services? Pay cuts, workload increases, further supply-side fragmentation, and privatisation suggest not just a down-grading of all public services but a removal of some services from public access. </p>
<p>This is a part of national life worth debating in totality: the role of the state, its funding of services, the free availability of health and education and the state’s part in the direction of economic recovery. </p>
<p>The Conservative answer seems to be clear – namely a forced retreat from the high tide of welfare – while Labour remains confused by its own legacy and future election chances. The strike day asked the right questions about the future of our public sector in a sharp and public way. Now we must debate them. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Seifert does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since the election of the coalition government in 2010, the UK has experienced a series of initiatives to reform the structure, funding and operation of the public sector. Under the umbrella of economic…Roger Seifert, Professor of Industrial Relations, University of WolverhamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/294572014-07-21T05:10:14Z2014-07-21T05:10:14ZCameron’s new strike laws are more radical than Margaret Thatcher’s<p>The Tory manifesto pledge to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10974768/Tories-announce-plans-for-tough-anti-strike-laws.html">change the law on strike ballots</a> are more radical than any of those introduced by Margaret Thatcher. If the government is re-elected and the proposals become law, industrial action will become a rare occurrence. In the past the ACAS chief conciliation Officer, Peter Harwood, argued in 2010 that tightening would <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8047173/Acas-warns-of-wildcat-strikes.html">inflame the situation and could lead to more wildcat strikes</a>. While the Tories appear determined to teach the unions a lesson, the Lib Dems <a href="http://www.libdemvoice.org/cable-backs-right-to-strike-and-opposes-strikes-41486.html">are critical of the proposals</a>. Could it be that Clegg and Cable are trying to cement their centre-ground position? The wheels of the election wagon turn ever faster.</p>
<p>The changes to balloting laws <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/01/margaret-thatcher-trade-union-reform-national-archives">introduced by Thatcher in the 1980s</a> gave union members a level of democracy not seen previously. Changing ballots from a show of hands in the company car park to a fully postal vote removed potential intimidation by union firebrands. The government reimbursement of the cost of postal ballots meant that unions were not saddled with the costs. When reimbursement was reduced to zero the membership was used to the new system and had no appetite for changing it back. Sadly <a href="http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/blogs/prospector-blog/five-ways-to-get-britain-voting">voting in industrial action ballots has declined</a> in the same way as political elections.</p>
<p>The introduction of minimum turnouts in ballots for industrial action has been on the cards for more than three years. It could be argued the unions have brought this on themselves by pursuing strike action on low turn-outs (NUT 27%; PCS 20%; POA 24%). There has been a good deal of confusion over the Government’s intentions. Some politicians have argued that a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2624789/David-Cameron-pledges-curb-strikes-essential-services-wins-election.html">majority of union members must support industrial action</a>, others that a <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2014/07/dominic-raab-mp-this-strike-is-unfair-unjustified-and-undemocratic.html">majority of those entitled to vote must support action</a>. Now we have some clarity. </p>
<p>The proposal that ballots should be subjected to maximum validity periods was also on the cards. The National Union Teachers has been <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10958011/School-strikes-must-be-stopped-says-David-Cameron.html">singled out for criticism</a> by David Cameron, Michael Gove, and Frances Maude all too frequently. The NUT (and other public sector unions) may have been complying with the law as it stands, but they should have seen the writing on the wall. They could have conducted another ballot to demonstrate reasonableness, so why didn’t they? Cost is a consideration, but it was more likely the fear of an even lower turnout or that the “yes” vote would be lower. Under the new arrangements it could well be that once one ballot is concluded the next will need to be organised before any progress has been made in negotiations, just in case.</p>
<p>Arguably the most complex proposal concerns the content of the ballot paper. Currently union members vote for strike action or action short of a strike by answering two questions with a simple yes or no. In future the ballot paper <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6a509aa-0dcc-11e4-b149-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3812K87Uw">must contain specific details of the dispute</a> and voting on every aspect of the dispute and the exact form of industrial action to be take. In multi-issue disputes the ballot paper will resemble a supermarket till receipt!</p>
<h2>Legal action</h2>
<p>This could also fertile ground for employers seeking High Court injunctions. The statutory reporting of the ballot result to employers will inevitably require details of the number of votes cast, “yes” votes, “no” votes and the number of spoilt papers for each separate issue. If Unite struggled with reporting 11 spoilt ballot papers in the British Airways dispute in 2010, how on earth will they cope with this?</p>
<p>Extending the notice to the employer from seven to 14 days gives more time for contingency plans to be put in place. This might backfire and spur unions to adopt guerrilla tactics; calling strike action then calling it off at the last minute. Removing the requirement for the first action to take place within 28 days of the ballot does appear sensible as it gives more time for negotiated settlement. Also, with the limited validity period it no longer serves any real purpose.</p>
<p>Reforming the rules on picketing is a bit of a red herring. The current <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/249807/10-923-industrial-action-and-the-law.pdf">statutory</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-picketing">code of practice</a> provisions are perfectly adequate, they just need to be enforced more stringently when necessary. What also appears to have been overlooked is that picketing is not just about trying to stop people working, it is also about encouraging them back to work.</p>
<p>The TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tuc-begs-uk-government-reform-union-strike-ballot-rules-1457196">has written to the business secretary Vince Cable</a> making the case for ballots to be conducted electronically using smart phones and computers. Unions are able to meet their statutory obligations of informing those entitled to vote of the outcome of a ballot by e-mail and text message and the cost of ballots would be reduced significantly. Given referenda conducted in this way see response rates of up to 96% moving to electronic voting could strengthen the unions’ mandate. Achieving turnouts well in excess of the 50% proposed minimum in this way would give unions’ greater legitimacy for industrial action. I can’t see the Cameron and Maude agreeing to that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29457/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alf Crossman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Tory manifesto pledge to change the law on strike ballots are more radical than any of those introduced by Margaret Thatcher. If the government is re-elected and the proposals become law, industrial…Alf Crossman, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations and HRM, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.