This Sunday sees the start of TUC Congress 2012 where we all head to Brighton for four days of days of sore heads, chips on the pier and this great movement of ours.
This year, for the first time since 1942, the TUC’s affiliated membership fell just under six million. In the private sector unions represent only one in seven workers; in the public sector, membership is under unprecedented pressure. Does this matter? Is trade union progression something that can only be seen through the through the prism of membership growth or do we need to think about extending union influence as something more than just signing up members? On Tuesday at congress we will be launching our new debate publication Extending collective bargaining, extending union influence (1pm, Brighton Centre … sandwiches provided) in which we’re asking what unions can do in the here and now to mobilise others and redefine the movement.
In our publication Paul Nowak of the TUC argues for a clearer political strategy – a strategy to get politicians talking about the positive value and role of unions and collective bargaining. He focuses on the need to demonstrate that stronger, growing unions are not just good for unions and their members, but are also part of a positive economic alternative, and the cornerstone for wage-driven growth. He argues that rising pay inequality, falling living standards and the insidious rise of the legal loan sharks and payday loan companies, have their roots – in large part – in falling union membership.
Mike Clancy of Prospect Union also calls for unions to contribute to an economic alternative, stating that fiscal conservatives have been far too dominant in influencing private sector workers to accept the ‘equality of misery’ argument. He asks why those with limited or no pension provision, no voice through collective bargaining, unilateral employer determination of their employment conditions and punishing performance management systems, appear to want others to join them in that existence?
Unions need to convince people with atypical working patterns and contracts such as freelancers, consultants, or those on variable or those on ‘zero hours’ contracts of the benefits of union membership. There shouldn’t be a tacit acceptance of poor conditions because it’s a sectoral ‘norm’.
Even where unions have recognition rights and are reasonably well organised we know that they can struggle to engage young people in the workplace. Sometimes this is interpreted as a lack of interest in collective values and representation and yet Dr Maria Koumenta of Queen Mary, University of London in her chapter on occupational regulation tells us that membership of professional associations governing occupational regulation is higher among 20-39-year-olds, the same group that have been found to be the ‘never-trade union’ members. She says that membership of a professional association is associated with perceptions of up skilling and professionalisation amongst members and unions need to demonstrate their value to both employers as well as employees.
Maurice Glasman details the lessons that unions can learn from Citizens UK and the campaign for the living wage. He wants unions to find new ways of working within the experience and language of workers as they are, and not as they would like them to be. He also wants them to train members to lead their own campaigns and work towards a ‘politics of the common good’.
Our debate publications don’t offer policies but present opinions upon the challenges trade unions are facing, but in a week when Cameron has reshuffled his cabinet to include even fewer women and no minority ethnic parliamentarians it is clear that it isn’t the trade unions that represent the alternative. They represent the reality.
Extending collective bargaining, extending union influence will be launched on Tuesday 11 September 1pm, Room 8, Brighton Centre, with a panel discussion chaired by Brian Groom, business and employment editor of the Financial Times.
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Jenny Simms is director of Unions21 and writes the Union Matters column for Progress
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