The UK public sector - Case Study Example

"Winter of Discontent" For Trade Union Movement The 1980s saw issues like privatisation, commercialisation, and above all, modernisation as the major dominants in the UK government's agenda at the time. This had far reaching effects on the policy considerations and final formulations within the government. Known more popularly as the reform agenda, these changes were aimed at the public sector provision. (Driver et al, 1998) Going back in time for a while, it may be seen that UK had risen from the ravages of the two world wars to recreate the magical world of the public sector. In doing so, there was a definite movement towards policies that would influence the industrial relations and the trade union movement. (Driver et al, 1998) This was followed by changing political ideals and approaches towards the public sectors in the following decades. In recent times however, it has been seen that there is significant unrest and discontent within the trade union regarding perspectives on the public sector in terms of pay and industrial relations. This paper will discuss the causes and extent of such discontent through the context of theories, events and various facts related to the civil services in general. The Public Sector: Historical Theory of 'Winter of Discontent' It is imperative to first define the public sector in UK. A country's public sector generally defines the horizon on which the various developments towards progression and growth of infrastructure take place. It is also the regulating force that underscores the activities within the market and that of the private sector as well. It is no different for UK's public sector which consists of basic amenity providing bodies like the postal service, the fire department, education, health and prison service, to name a few. Until the 1980s, the UK public sector was dominated by an agenda of collectivism, wherein a highly pluralistic approach was followed in the operational sphere. This signified the following features: Acceptance of trade unions as legitimate players where employment relations were concerned. Significant role play of trade unions in the decision making process. Heavy use of collective bargaining to meet ends like determination of pay and conditions of work. The centralisation of collective bargaining machinery and instruments for the creation of a set of standards for the regulation of terms and conditions. High level of membership in trade unions. (Driver et al, 1998) Any country or organisation's basic and most important resource lies with its human element. The working force behind the industrial sector is in fact the work force, popularly known as the human resources. In giving the trade unions a large and important role to play as far as industrial relations were concerned, the UK government was trying to achieve the following results: Make optimum utilisation of its workforce. Create enough scope though accelerated production for economic growth which would in turn compensate the ravages of the two world wars Keep maximum resources and service provision bodies in the public sector through a demonstration of high capacity and capability. (Driver et al, 1998) With the identification of such goals, came the emergence of the trade unions which realised that it could exploit the public sector to a greater advantage. To make use of human resources for the achievement of such goals, the UK government gave into the demands of the employees. Thus, it can be seen that the public sector was governed closely by a set of standards set forth by the trade unions in context of pay and conditions of work. The trade union was thus a body that regulated the operational sphere of the public sector as it had important roles to play in various processes like decision making and centralisation of collective bargaining methods. This was not to last though. With the advent of the Thatcher government, there was a steady change in the equation enjoyed by the trade union within the public sector. (Driver et al, 1998) Margaret Thatcher's government introduced the dynamics terms as 'Thatcherism' into the operational sphere of the public sector. This government worked on the premise that the public sector was literally being 'ruled' by the trade unions. Wanting to do away with this dominance, the Thatcher government created the 1980 Employment Act, within which there were definite legislations that would give the public sector the right to run itself instead of being run by the trade unions. (Driver et al, 1998) In doing so, the Thatcher government managed to correct the distorted economic growth which was influenced by widespread and unreasonable expenditure in the public sector. This period was referred to as a 'winter of discontent' as far as industrial relations were concerned. On one side, the public sector officials were happy to have government support in gaining independence from the trade unions, and on the other hand, there was a spread of discontent within the trade unions and other sectors. The country's economy lifted despite Mass Action Days held by employees at the behest of the trade unions and there was a definite movement towards growth of the public sector. (Foote, 1997) This growth came about in terms of setting and achieving goals like privatisation, commercialisation and modernisation. Privatisation and commercialisation encouraged the growth of the private sector and thus put more disposable income in the hands of the people with the achievement of greater profits. This also halved the role of trade unions. Further, with a nudge towards modernisation, there was a movement towards realising full industrial potential in terms of turnover and production through widespread use of machinery and less use of manpower. (Driver et al, 1998) These measures put the public sector back in the driver's seat, yet the trade union was still around for the essential services and for procuring rights as and when necessary for the employees. The industrial relations continued to thrive with growing trends that emerged from the growing private sector. (Driver et al, 1998) Causes and Effects of Current Discontent With a growth in the stagnation of the British economy in recent years, there has been wide unrest among various quarters. The major discontent has come from the pay commission considerations by the government. The government has kept a target for a 2% hike in the pay of the employees, which has been met with discontent. This hike is supposed to target civil servants, nurses, police officers, teachers and various other employees. The reason for such discontent is the fact that according to various studies and research, the cost of living is all set to rise by 4% in the same period as the 2% salary hike has been proposed. (PersonnelToday, 2007) The perspectives of the government and the trade unions do not match here as far as maintaining a certain quality of industrial relations is concerned. While the government has promised three years of reduced living standards, people like TUC chief Brendan Barber maintain that such moves are full of risk and will not secure long time benefits for any of the parties involved. (Foote, 1997) With the government's promise, the trade union only sees a future of economic emergency and exploited employees at the receiving end. The perspective of the trade union is that this will lead a steady depreciation in the quality of industrial relations. (T&G, 2007) Further, another cause of discontent is the rise of inequality in the work environment within the public sector. According to speeches delivered by Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley at the TUC, 2007 in Brighton, there has been a steady trickle of casualisation in the modern work place where there are a million second class citizens working in agency and temporary positions. These are some of the events outlined by Woodley as 'evidence of abuse: (T&G, 2007) Plants where one third of the workforce are agency - but employed all year round, on worse pay, overtime and holiday rights Permanent workers leave and replaced by Agency staff A 65 year old worker threatened at gunpoint for daring to complain and told his family would be harmed A young pregnant Polish worker forced to live in a car for weeks after her agency kicked her out of her accommodation, her passport taken by the Agency so she can't even go home A leading hotel chain employs Chinese agency workers to do the same work as others but not on the national minimum wage. The Chinese workers are given 3.75 an hour in envelopes because, officially, they don't exist. (T&G, 2007) In context of these findings, Woodley stated that domestic legislation is required for furthering positive industrial relations within the public sector. It has also been found that with denial of reasonable wages, overtime, no sick leave or holidays, the employees are getting a raw deal. The basic problem here is of discrimination and racial backlash which is leading to a steady casualisation of the public sector. (T&G, 2007) In light of these events, the effects have been far reaching. There has been a growth of conflict in the workplace, which is threatening the quality of industrial relations. Further, there has been an eruption of strikes and fall outs with ineffective measures to create the scope for retention of employees. Also, there has been a downsize in the recruitments for the public sector as many feel that their morale is being compromised. (PersonnelToday, 2007) The stand taken by the trade unions here is one of strike action. There have been reports of thousands of workers in the revenue and customs departments moving towards taking a vote for declaration of strike action. The general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, feels that it is about time the government showed a little respect in the way it treats its employees. The Public and Commercial Services Union has over 315,000 members across government departments and agencies. With widespread resentment over the public sector pay policy, the coastguard is set to hold a strike for the first time in its history over the below inflation pay hike promise by the government. (PersonnelToday, 2007) The basic agenda here is of strikes and fallouts. The trade unions seem to have left little scope for talks, while the government itself seems to be stalling for time. These events are directly linked with theories of unfair trade practice regimes that will retard the growth of the economy in UK. (Foote, 1997) In effect, there will be a rise in the racial discrimination scenario given the sheer number of immigrants working in UK, especially in the public sector. Therefore it may be said that a fresh 'winter of discontent' is setting in. Recommendations To begin with, there is a need to remove the unfair trade practice regime. This can be done by garnering extended democratic participation in the policy formulation and decision making process. This has various implications. First and foremost, it refers to the acknowledgement of the wide Diaspora in terms of immigrants from various parts of the globe who have undertaken jobs in the public sector or even other commercial activities related with the public sector. These people need to be put at ease regarding the environment that will meet them at their workplace. Food, ventilation and other such practices are not enough to secure industrial relations - the promise of non violence on the basis of race, caste, creed, nationality, colour, and many other such factors need to be done away with. For this, the most important step is garner support from all corners so that in effect, everyone will have an equal say in the policy formulation process for a better pay. (Foote, 1997) The other implication of the above mentioned strategy for removal of the unfair trade practice regime is that of speed. The action taken should be fast and far reaching. There needs to be an all out movement towards having talks and securing the best conditions that will benefit the employees without burning a hole in the pocket of the national exchequer. This will guarantee a steady movement towards better productivity. (Howell, 1976) While complete domination over the public sector is not recommended, there needs to be a partnership between the trade unions and the public sector. There has been a fall out in the face of the recent events. Yet, both sides need to find a basic operating premise on the basis of which they can get back together for fruitful relationship. A partnership needs to be forged in order to secure rights for equal treatment within the workplace, and for a better pay hike. For this partnership to work and endure the test of time, the trade unions need to understand that the government has only so many resources at hand. The government and the trade unions need to work out a method of slowly elevated pay structures within the framework of their partnership. Before this, it is necessary for the trade unions and the government to discuss the government's agenda in terms of plans for the coming years in context of economic growth, infrastructure and other such issues are concerned. Once the trade union understands the obligations of the government, both parties must discuss the scope for using a model that will slowly raise the pay as the other projects proposed by the government begin to pay off. This can be done over a period of about two years so that people are fully prepared to reach the 4% hike in the standard of living. (Foote, 1997) The overall Human Resource Management Practices within the public sector need to be revolutionised for the employees to be in a better position to meet issues. The recent events have shown that eruptions in terms of conflict and violence have become common stance in the workplace. This needs to be dealt with more appropriately. The trade union and government partnership must set down a set of standards that must be achieved as far as industrial relations within the public sector are concerned. These standards need to be based on the number of immigrants working in separate departments as well as the basic treatment of public service workers. (Howell, 1976) In order to combat the problems of increased government expenditure on health and education, which has been met with limited results and a decline in productivity, there needs to be a diversion of resources into other areas of the civil services. Further, these problems should be viewed from the political perspective as the onslaught of inflation and the salary hike are not in tandem. The collective bargaining methods must be put across to the political parties in order to garner increases support. (Howell, 1976) Conclusion The fresh 'winter of discontent' has come about due to the fact that the trade unions have little play in the matters of the public sector after the 1980s. There needs to be a movement towards building more strategic partnerships on the basis of which the government and the trade unions will be able to understand each others' perspective as regards the fast approaching onslaught of inflation and government agendas that need to be fulfilled in the meantime. Also, the best way to combat conflict is to spread greater awareness and get the employees to reach within the workplace to such events. In order for the 'winter of discontent' to blow over, there needs to be a careful alignment of the goals government, the trade unions and finally, the employees themselves. References Driver, Stephen; Martell, Luke. (1998) "New Labour: Politics after Thatcherism" Polity Press. Geoffrey Foote (1997). "The Labour Party's Political Thought: A History". Macmillan. David Howell (1976). "British Social Democracy". Croom Helm. Agency Workers. T & G News. URL: http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/Internal.aspNodeID=93725&int1stParentNodeID=42438. (Accessed during: January, 2008) Personnel Today. URL: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/01/07/43784/tuc-warns-government-of-industrial-action-if-public-sector-pay-reviews-recommendations-are-ignored.html (Accessed during: January, 2008) Read More