John Robertson
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Re:How can we best build a vibrant, growing trade - 21/07/2007 16:42
Well I've re-read the artical as carefully as I can.
I think that many union bosses and activists are suggesting poor service as a fact of life, and with bad paid-for services, the voluntary side of union life will become demoralised too.
The quotes in my last long paragraph are real quotes from real people. I could give you their names. If you are a T&G rep asking an official for legal help for a member, or a member complaining to branch activists, the answer really is "the purpose of a trade union is not legal insurance but solidarity". And T&G boss Mr Dwomy really did say "officers spend too much time acting as convenors because workplace organisation is not strong enough to sort out the bulk of its problems". I think that workplace organisation is not strong enough because there are so few paid officials.
I do take the point that free goodwill, slightly trained and organised around shops and reps, is the best thing about the union movement, but membership costs a hefty £12 a month, which is for something else. If officials, lawyers, secretaries & trainers are not paid for, then anyone who joins as a rep will soon resign again when they realise how little they are backed-up. My impression from anti-bullying groups, from the union reps message board, and from the firm I used to work for, is that reps' biggest resentment is the lack of backup when they need it. My own rep stood down at lack of legal help. His replacement finally got a referral to a lawyer who did more harm than good. When I was trying to prepare a legal case, and finally got to see the official to ask his advice, he said "yes, that's my job, but I'm too busy. I only read two or three pages at a time". Another pattern is for the union to delay legal help until the very last minute - after the member has done the legal work - and then to hope for a quick settlement. Dissatisfaction with union lawyers is recorded in a large survey of tribunal complainants.
Finally, and sadly, I believe that skinflint service is the rule not the exception. This is not a problem of a few bad apples or apathetic branches. For example the T&G spends only about 5% of its legal budget on employment law. There is very little money to be made from employment law in success fees. There may be millions of members who are led to believe they get "top lawyers" from the T&G web site. But they will only discover bad service when they try to get it, and meanwhile the £12 a month direct debits keep coming in.
I do agree with most of your points. The only disgreement is just how bad the average paid-for union service is.
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Post edited by: Mortlake, at: 21/07/2007 16:46
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