Trade Unionism in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Trade Unionism in the United Kingdom I. Introduction The UK trade union movement seemed at the height of its powers in the l970s, bringing down governments and recruiting millions of new members.1 So said Richard Hyman2 in an interview with the British Broadcasting company (BBC). The industrial relations professor of London School of Economics said 'Being a union member has ceased to be the social norm,' Trade unions now, however, are in for a long decline.3 Unions are the sum of members, activists and full-time officers who contest policy and action from different ideological stances, but what unions do is the outcome of human agency and process.4 Activities of unions, according to Policy Studies Institute, 5 include collective bargaining, information and consultation, union recruitment and the partnership agenda. This paper looks into the status of trade unionism in the United Kingdom from a cross-section of reports of trade unionists themselves who are also authorities on the subject, with some inputs of a unionist from a neighbouring union. All of them accept trade unionism in UK is declining but each qualifies what he means by "decline." Monks 6, however, is more of being non-committal about declination. Much categorical about UK unionism declination are Hyman7 and Gall,8 with the first at least hopeful for unions reclaiming a positive climb, and the latter more or less seeing a dim future for the unions. Finally, this paper looks into the possible role of UK trade unionism in employee relations. II. Decline of UK trade unionism and location Decline of UK Trade unionism is perceived from many angles. If it were on terminal decline it would mean it is tapering off, concluding, finishing, and ending. Therefore, memberships in unions are expected to fall. As a manifestation of its terminal declination, unions would have no power at all, for example, in collective bargaining. With employers, they would have no political teeth to negotiate for better management practices. As presented from several reports on UK trade unionism, however, the end is not yet for the British unions although decline is more or less accepted as discussed in the following - Richard Hyman (2004).9 Hyman is professor of Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics. His main research interests are trade unions and industrial conflict. The author of many books on trade unionism, Hyman locates decline in the trade unions in strength and militancy. Among the sources mentioned here, it is Hyman who strongly states that the trade unions have indeed declined. Yet, hopeful as he is, he declares that unions can recapture misplaced identification of the worker with new world and new futures back to the union by being knowledgeable in the battle for ideas. He then proposes concepts which he declares are the strength of contemporary personnel managers that trade unions should begin to exploit. Gregor Gall (2005).10 Gall, a member of the Scottish Socialist Party and Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Hertfordshire says the contemporary decline of trade unionism in Britain is in the membership, bargaining power and political influence. Going beyond Hyman11 who sets his statements with a question mark, he is one authority who describes declination quantitatively. According to Gall, trade union density in 2004 was 28.8%, having previously been 55% in 1979. He asks, if social democracy is revived, could it provide a new source of politically inspired union activists Gall puts weight on the role of the activist who's energy has waned and ebbed and refuses to fight. According to him, the activist is the spirit behind unionism. Without the activist, unionism dies. Since the activist today has found his concerns in other things, unionism has weakened. As proof, he said, the Labour Representation Committee was launched a few years ago, but judged by the poor attendance at its annual conferences, and the number of affiliated organizations and local groups, revival does not seem to be making much headway. However, it is not enough to simply suggest strategies to get the union moving but to include a plan. Said Gall - ."There are far too many sympathetic commentators and union movement thinkers who simply put forward ideas for union renewal and reinvigoration which run along the lines of 'the unions should do this' and 'the unions should do that' whether with regard to social partnership (at micro- or macro-level), union organising, employment law reform, 'fighting back', renewing militancy and class struggle, or reclaiming the Labour Party. 'Unions' or a 'union' are not singular, homogeneous bodies that can be commanded to do 'x' or 'y.' Rather, they are the sum of members, activists and full-time officers who engaged in different levels of contestation over policy and action, and from different ideological stances.' 12 John Kelly (2002).13 Kelly is Professor of Industrial Relations at the London School of Economics. His main research interests are trade unions and industrial conflict. He has written and edited several books on industrial relations, trade unions, and socialist politics among other topics. It is John Kelly who talks about new unionism. He admits of trade unionism decline as known around the world but he right away follows it up with reports of union movements in re-organising and trying to revive themselves. Kelly declares that Union leaders are increasingly recognising that they are not powerless in the face of increased global competition and the continuing spread of multinational corporations. There are measures and policies they can adopt, he said, which can contribute to union revitalisation. Jane Parker (2002).14 Parker belongs to the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), University of Warwick, a major European research centre seeking to promote understanding of industrial relations through inter-disciplinary and theoretically informed empirical inquiry. Speaking from research, Parker is most disaffected about trade unions, reporting only like a journalist. In fact, she simply covers issues on debates. She presents the cooperative partnership of labour government and the unions in the person of TUC Secretary General Richard Monks and Trade and Industry Secretary, Stephen Byers. Mainly, Parker contributes on role of trade unionism in employee relations. Union decline, therefore, in Parker's presentation is at most temporary and ebbing. In a more subdued outlook, Parker15 comes between the negative and positive sides. Admitting to some declining which she emphasises is only found in membership, she sees some leverage for the unions in new laws, but which she attributes to Monk's views. These laws, she said, will be able to see the unions through in the future. In other words, Parker was writing from her own research. John Monks (2001).16 Monks is secretary-general of Trade Union Congress (TUC), the most optimistic of whoever speaks for British trade unionism. Short of never mentioning the word, "decline," he chides that obituaries for the unions never stop coming, but for himself, he sees a renaissance. Membership fell sharply from around 14 million people of British union membership three decades ago, but then there wasn't a single reason for this, he said. Moreover, some reasons were specific to Britain but these have also have occurred in most other advanced economies. Foremost of these was that Margaret Thatcher did much to decimate trade unionism in Britain, being very much against collectivism.17 Then there was the effect of government borrowing which led to both a rapid decline of the manufacturing sector and cutbacks in the public sector, with inevitable consequences for union membership. Finally, there was the decline in manufacturing jobs. 18 Monks19 on the other hand declares that in UK trade unionism, it is only the manufacturing sector and its blue-collar man that has been lost. In its stead is the cross-section sector with its de-masculined figure, modern and more innovative. In other words, when it comes to measuring any unionism decline, density should be considered, he said. Showing several graphs detailing trends, Monks belies reports that trade unionism has ebbed, but is in fact on the renaissance. Andy Richards (2005).20 An outsider to this group, Richards is the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) regional secretary of Welsh. He analyses what unions can do for the worker, why unorganized people have not joined but are interested, maps out the weaknesses of previous campaigns, and presents strategies for renewed efforts. He reports that unions are ready to take on a new tack, meaning taking decline as only temporary. 'Decline' has meant many things to many people; but on the whole, it has not meant a depressive end for trade unionism in the United Kingdom. Decline is a continuum that could ebb and crest. On the contrary, it was taken as a signal for manoeuvring to new ways of thinking and doing things. In sum, trade unionism in UK has its positive sides going, to count the present and the future. The Policy Studies Institute of UK, in fact, shows that to date, European unions are "reaching out to women, young people, migrant workersand people who work in the largely-unorganised service sector" 21 Should membership come by bounds, it will prove in the few years ahead that truly trade unionism in UK is on a smooth ride. III. Surveys on Trade Unionism in the UK Monks 22 provides for most inputs from research about trade unionism in the UK. Accordingly, the average union member is not anymore the full-time male blue-collar worker of the factory, but cross section, maybe female, part time according to Monks. The stereotypical union member, he said, was once a full-time male blue-collar worker of manufacturing. The recruitment target for the union in recent years have then been more women and more part timers.23 Recruitment of young people is the key, he said. However, this has been criticised by Gall24 who said that no matter how many organizers are recruited, what is lacking is the cadre or the training of the politically- oriented activist. From research, the reasons why unions have declined according to Workplace Employee Relations Surveys (WERS) was that they have failed to establish recognition in newly established and expanding private sector workplaces.25 In other words, while they did well during the difficult years of the 1980s and 1990s where they were already established, they found it very difficult to establish in new workplaces. The second reason given was that density has fallen in unionised workplaces in both the public and private sectors. This is undoubtedly true, Monks26 said, though it is also the case in most unionised workplaces in the private sector that employment has declined. Research also done by British Workplace Relations Survey, a major exercise conducted at the London School of economics (LSE) states that non-union members appreciate the role unions play.27 Specifically, some 61% of working non-union members agrees that strong trade unions are needed to protect working conditions and wages. Only 30% of non-union members think that trade unions are old fashioned, and only 20% think that trade unions have no future. These are considered impressive results. WERS also claims 55% of their subjects say they have never been asked to join, and there are no strong reasons among most of them to oppose union membership. Since these are three million non-members in union workplaces, these could be three million promising sales leads for unions according to Monks.28 In sum, trade unionism in UK could depend on the following - ". the growth of partnership industrial relations, the huge increase in union learning initiatives, the new emphasis on organising and exciting new plans to help both those most liable to exploitation and those who are doing rather well at work shows that unions are in touch with the modern world of work. And with changes in the law going in our direction, if not always in the labour market, trade unionism has a strong and vibrant future." This is akin to the new unionism and revival that Kelly 29 described, the characteristics of renaissance that Monks30 talked about, the union renewal that Parker 31 wrote of, and the emerging agenda Hyman 32 described. Sarah Dickins 33 of BBC News Online earlier looked at the reasons for that decline, and the likelihood it can be reversed. She is the most pessimistic, however, when she reported that the decline of union membership will be difficult to reverse. "That is because its basic cause has to do with changes in the economy that have led to fewer male industrial unskilled workers," she said. As she explained, the labour market has changed dramatically; part-time work has increased, more women are in work, and more people work for themselves. These groups are harder to organise in unions, she said, than full-time manual workers. In addition, Dickens said, the economy has been shifting from manufacturing to the service sector. Jobs have continued to decline in industry, construction, and energy-related firms, while the economy grew. In contrast, jobs in the service sector, like hotel and catering, business services, and health and education have continued to grow. But these are smaller workplaces which are harder to organise, said Dickens. 34 The contentions of Business News Correspondent Dickens,35 however, may be considered limited and myopic compared to those of the Unionists earlier discussed. Hers represents the usual reasoning of the layman who is not privy to the moorings of trade unions. For example, she is still looking for the full-time blue-collared manufacturing male in measuring declination and yet she agrees that 'the labour market has changed dramatically.' This was the same case with another BBC Economics Correspondent S. Schifferes. 36 IV. Union activities: rebuilding the movement Progressive conference. Faced with declining membership and bargaining leverage, trade unions in the UK are mapping out strategies to build union organisation and establish new relationships with employers.37 The first major trade union conference was some ten years ago on Changing work, changing unions, organised by the Unions 21 network that brought about some 450 trade unionists, policymakers, academics and other participants. Unions 21 is associated with the "modernising left" and is supported by a number of unions and related organisations. According to Parker,38 its conferences regularly feature leading trade union and Labour Party figures. The progressive conference of that 1999 conference was said to cover a range of labour market and workplace issues including the management of unions, the nature of work, changing union cultures, the European single currency and jobs, the legislative agenda and electoral reform.39 From an industrial relations perspective, the underlying theme was union renewal, and the implications of the government's proposed Fairness at work legislation were of particular concern to participants. Super-union. In rebuilding the movement, mergers of particular defined industries, organising, and diversification would be the trade union agenda for the next decade at least.40 The British trade union movement is said to be entering one of the most important periods of its history for an upcoming merger. There's going to be a new, "super union" merger by January 1, 2007 among three great unions - the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) along with Amicus and the General Main Trades, Britain (GMB). 41 Expected will be a union described by Richards as - ".by far the largest union in the UK and Ireland, one with organising at its heart, planning to invest 10% minimum of its membership income, approximately 20 million per year, into organising. The resulting organisation shall have a yearly income of over 200 million and growing, with unparalleled industrial and political influence / muscle, and a union that would have, a Parliamentary Group of over 300 MPs. ' Already, two of these, the T&G and GMB were reported in 2004 as among three biggest unions with the second one a significant merger. 42 The following data were registered by Schifferes 43 - Amicus is composed of 918,305 males and 261,545 females or a total of 1,179,850 members 44 who work with main trades and industries manufacturing, engineering, energy, construction, IT, defense aerospace, motor industry, civil aviation, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, steel and metals, shipbuilding, scientists, technologists, professional and managerial staff, electronics and telecommunications, tobacco, food and drink, textiles, ceramics, paper, printing, professional staff in universities, commercial sales, the voluntary sector, banking and financial services, and the National Health Service. On the other hand, GMB or Britain's General Union membership is composed of 358,781 males and 241,325 females or a total 600,106 members45 who work with main trades and industries public services-primarily NHS, local government, care education; also engineering, construction, shipbuilding, energy, catering, security, civil air transport, aerospace, defence, clothing, textiles, retail, hotel, chemicals, utilities, offshore, AA, food production and distribution. Finally, membership of Transport and General Workers' Union or T&G is composed of 649,065 males and 171,053 females or a total of 820,118 workers46 who deal with building, construction and civil engineering; chemical, oil and rubber manufacture; civil air transport; docks and waterways; food, drink and tobacco; general workers; passenger services; power and engineering; public services; road transport commercial; textiles; vehicle building and automotive. With a total of 1,179,850 members from Amicus, 600,106 from GMB, and 820,118 from T&G, expected grand total would come up with 2,600,074. This number would give the strength, resources and influence that can break out of the traditional trade union strongholds of the economy into the unorganised sectors. Richards 47 claims that once the new union is established, it will lead to other unions seeking the opportunity to strengthen the collective influence of the labour movement and encourage further amalgamation. According to Richards, 48 the unions are said to have realized that they have not crafted a career path for socially progressive people and that they have to correct this. They also have to fundamentally change the way trade unions campaign and that they have to train their issues against fascist elements and racists with issues relevant to the young. Confrontation will be in the streets, taking the issues to the enemy and disrupting their meetings, he said. V. The Trade Union and its Role in employee relations As spelled out in earlier discussions, declination of trade unionism in the United Kingdom is more or less admitted by all references here but not in the sense that it is terminal or that nothing can be done about it. On the contrary, each reference states what could be done and what is being done. By extension, there is a role that trade unionism in the UK plays in employee relations. For example, at the Union 21 conference covered by Parker 49 a cooperative partnership approach between employers and unions were being crafted. Parker reported of the participants as recharged with a renewed sense of mission, and described as "cautiously optimistic in the light of the Labour government's draft of employment law reforms and European legislative initiatives.' These were seen as helping to establish new "ground rules" which might stimulate a cooperative partnership approach between employers and unions and in renewed union recruitment efforts. In the same affair, John Monks,50 TUC secretary general and Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers, were there as key personalities. The latter was reported as stressing that the Labour government saw trade unions having "a very important role to play in helping the competitive position of British industry and its management of change to meet future challenges". In Byers' view, businesses with recognised and well-organised trade unions are associated with economic success as well as more progressive employment practices. Moreover, Byers emphasised that the future of trade unions "depended on the building of effective bridges with employers, as well as representing and providing services to individual members." 51 In approaching union-employee relationship, Hyman52 takes a different tack by describing the structural changes that have developed in the world of work, and presenting innovative concepts along management. Accordingly, aside from the "sword of justice" that the unionist faces, comes the vested interest, he says, in the form of external challenges. Hyman 53 sees these interests as confronting trade unions in three forms: 1) Material challenges in reaching out to mobilise; 2) Pressures of global competition characterising massive job losses and consequent loss of union membership; and 3) Employer challenge where they communicate directly with employees, resulting in lose of union representation. Hyman's54 analysis of developments in the area of work includes 'increasing feminisation of the labour force,' where in most countries domestic work is said to remain primarily or exclusively female. Home and work relationship has also transformed and there are disjunctures between work and community, explained as each worker having different interests and activities from the next worker. This may "entail the loss of many of the localised networks which strengthened the supports of union membership." Many writers are said to explain these developments as leading to shifts in employee relations following the decline of trade unionism. Hyman,55 however, states it is oversimplifying to link these structural shifts to the decline of collectivism and a rise of individualism. Rather than analyse reasons for worker "displaced identities," Hyman would challenge the unions to win the support of the worker to place the identification with trade unionism instead. At the outset, Hyman thinks the worker now has "acquired class ethos or habit" because of a different ideal of a new world or a different future, hence, the unions must be challenged.56 The struggle for trade union organisation is a battle of ideas, he said. As such, unions must scrutinise the concepts which have inspired the offensive of employers and attempt to reclaim these for different purposes. Hyman 57 is most detailed in his supposed union strategies for employee relations. They come in concepts of flexibility, security, opportunity, democracy, and community deemed to be the manager's offensives. As union strategies, they can better be appreciated if exploitative work relations are described. Overall the unions could appeal to many workers by pressing for increased choice of alternatives at work through established ground rules ensuring that nothing is used to their disadvantage.58 Fear of job loss, for example, is the overwhelming work-related concern of employees today. What the trade union would do in this case is to resist this insecurity. Career advancement and occupational mobility are aspirations increasingly important for the unions. They can negotiate a fair and equitable framework within which individualized aspects of the employment relationship may be worked out.59 Also, along Hyman's concept of democracy in the workplace, some lean organizations demand much work. Power and resources are lacking, yet the organization creates many responsibilities. In this regard, the trade unions would the contradiction between what management says and everyday reality in the workplace. 60 VI. Conclusion From the discussions that ensued, it can be concluded that there may be a decline of trade unionism in the United Kingdom but it is not at its terminal end. The scales can go up favorably with activities and commitment. A promising factor may be found in the renewed outlook of labour government looking to unionism as in partnership with employers for a better business toward economic success. There are things that unions can do which members cannot do if they stood individually outside of the union. For example, trade unionism in the early 1990s was characterized by strikes as trade unionism grew. 61. Through the union, employees were enabled to assert their right to have a voice determining the conditions of their industry. Government is then forced to respond to demands and private entities come up with insurance schemes against sickness and unemployment. The state is now honouring a duty to secure certain standards to all its citizens.62 Trade unions may be more positively assessed through the hard work of unionists. For reasons such as this, unionists need to be in solidarity all over the globe. Killings of trade union activists rise every year, and among these are teachers, lecturers, public sector workers, journalists, health, agricultural, construction, food workers, and workers in manufacturing, energy and science. According to Dearden,63 trade unionists desperately need the support of trade unionists in the UK. Trade unions are said to have the potential to address current worker discontents in ways which generalise fragmented experiences and permit new forms of solidarity in the pursuit of genuine empowerment. There are classic situations where unionism could greatly help. Situational examples given by Richards 64 include when workers are deprived of their pensions by company closures and cutbacks while the pensions of senior managers were protected; when workers lose their jobs for taking completely legal and legitimate industrial action against management, and when workers could die or be mutilated in avoidable industrial accidents, from construction sites to farms. Other situations could be when women or black people, or disabled workers, suffer quite horrific discrimination and abuse at work, sometimes from managers themselves; when there is low pay with illegal deductions by the employer; and when illegals working are exploited by unscrupulous employers and criminal gangmasters at intolerable levels of abusive and threatening management. Many workers, however, are not in unions. From the personal experience of Richards 65 and from his research, millions of employees would like to be in trade unions but presently aren't. The reasons are that they are sometimes afraid, don'tknow how to contact a union, in small workplaces, they don't have the right to union recognition, making it appear there is no point in joining. But the common factor is that they believe they would benefit from union support, union protection, union advice, and union strength.66 If trade unions decline, it does not mean their end. For as long as they offer better options for workplace conditions than managers of exploitative situations, for as long as they continue imbibing on concepts that empower the employee, for as long as they look to the welfare of the employee and make their presence recognized in unionised private and public places, they will continue to survive and perform significant roles in employee relations. End Notes 1 Parker, J. 2002. 'Conference debates strategies for union renewal,' European industrial relations observatory (eiro) on-line. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/1999/03/feature/uk9903187f.html. [Parker belongs to the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), Warwick Business School. Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), University of Warwick, is a major European research centre seeking to promote understanding of industrial relations through inter-disciplinary and theoretically informed empirical inquiry (http://users.wbs.warwick.ac.uk/irru) 2 Schifferes, S. 'The trade unions' long decline,' Last updated March 8, 2004. December 29, 2005. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3526917.stm. [Schifferes is BBC News Online economics reporter]. 3 Ibid. 4 Gall, G. 'Trade union activism in Britain: crisis in capacity and ideology,' New socialist. Ideas for radical change. New socialist Magazine Issue 54. Nov 2005 to Jan 2006. [Article originally appeared in the Scottish Marxist magazine, Frontline]. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.newsocialist.org/index.phpid=618 [Gregor Gall is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party and Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Hertfordshire]. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/england/ear20_trade_unionism.shtml 5 'John Monks considers the future of trade unionism in the UK and in Europe at PSI seminar.' Press Release. Policy Studies Institute (PSI).August 5, 2003. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.psi.org.uk/news/pressrelease.aspnews_item_id=109 [General Secretary of the European Trades Union Congress. http://www.tuc.org.uk/]. Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is a registered charity and has no association with any political party, pressure group or commercial interest. Over the past decade, the Employment Group has completed more than 100 research studies, investigating labour market inequality and disadvantage, as well as new programmes and new methods of delivery for government services and policies. Other work has addressed the prediction of long-term unemployment, the impact of the flexible labour market, transitions between school and work and changing patterns of employment relations. The Group currently consists of 13 permanent research staff plus external research associates. Disciplinary backgrounds of those currently working in the Group include sociology, economics, political science, statistics, psychology and industrial relations (www.psi.org.uk). 6 Monks, J. 'The union renaissance.' Trade Union Congress (TUC), Lecture to Leeds Business School. Press release, November 29, 2001. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/tuc-4064-f0.cfm. [Monks is secretary-general of TUC]. 7 Hyman, R. 'An Emerging Agenda for Trade Unions' University of Warwick December 29, 2005. Available at: http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/gewerkschaft/hyman.html. First published in Labour and Globalisation: Results and Prospects. Edited by Munck, R. Liverpool University Press, 2004, pp.19-33. [Richard Hyman, professor of the London School of Economics, is an author of many books on the subject of trade unions and related topics]. 8 Gall, G. 'Trade union activism in Britain: crisis in capacity and ideology,' New socialist. Ideas for radical change. New socialist Magazine Issue 54. Nov 2005 to Jan 2006. [Article originally appeared in the Scottish Marxist magazine, Frontline]. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.newsocialist.org/index.phpid=618 [Gregor Gall is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party and Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Hertfordshire]. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/england/ear20_trade_unionism.shtml 9 Hyman (2004) 10 Gall (2005) 11 Ibid. 13 Kelly, J. 'Union Revival - Organising around the world,' London School of Economics. November 2002. December 27, 2005. Available at: http://64.233.167.104/searchq=cache:AX3U8-SIenwJ:www.tuc.org.uk/newunionism/revival5.pdf+cadre+unionism+uk&hl=tl 14 Parker, J. (2002) 15 Ibid. 16 Monks, J. (2001) 17 Ibid. 18 Ibid. 19 Monks, J. (2001) 20 Richards, A. 'Challenges facing trade unions in the next decade in Wales and the rest of the UK.' Thompson's,' Annual Lecture, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, November 28, 2005. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/Internal.aspNodeID=92110 [Andy Richards is Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) Welsh regional secretary]. 21 Policy Studies Institute (PSI).August 5, 2003 22 Monks, J. (2001) 23 Ibid. 24 Gall (2005) 25 Monks, J. (2001) 26 Ibid. 27 Ibid. 28 Monks, J. (2001) 29 Kelly, J. (2002) 30 Parker, J. (2002) 31 Parker, J. (2002) 32 Hyman (2004) 33 Dickins, S. 'Business: The Economy. TUC: anatomy of decline'.BBC News Online. September 12, 1999. December 30, 2005. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/445066.stm [Sarah Dickins is BBC Business Correspondent]. 34 Ibid. 35 Ibid. 36 Schifferes, S. 'The trade unions' long decline,' Last updated March 8, 2004. December 29, 2005. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3526917.stm. [Schifferes is BBC News Online economics reporter]. 37 Parker, J. (2002) 38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Richards, A (2005) 41 Ibid. 42 TUC data. In: Schifferes, S. (2004) 43 Schifferes, S. (2004 44 As registered with Gen Sec Derek Simpson, Amicus policy and rules conference, 14-18 May 2005, Brighton 45 As registered with Acting Gen Sec Paul Kenny and President Mary Turner, GMB Congress 5-9 June 2005, Newcastle. 46 As registered with Gen Sec Tony Woodley, Biennial Delegate Conference 11-15 July 2005, Blackpool. 47 Richards, A (2005) 48 Ibid. 49 Parker, J. (2002) 50 Parker, J. (2002) 51 Ibid. 52 Hyman (2004) 53 Ibid. 54 Ibid. 55 Hyman (2004) 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 Hyman (2004) 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. 61 Hyman (2004) 62 Ibid. 63 Dearden, N. 'Living Hell.' Redpepperarchive, August 2002. December 27, 2005. Available at: http://www.redpepper.org.uk/intarch/x-columbia-dearden.html. 64 Richards, A (2005) 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid. References 'Britain's unions.' Trade Union Congress (TUC). Britain at work. www.tuc.org.uk December 27, 2005. Available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/unions_main.cfm. [Signature: "With member unions representing over six and a half million working people, we campaign for a fair deal at work and for social justice at home and abroad."]. 'John Monks considers the future of trade unionism in the UK and in Europe at PSI seminar.' Press Release. Policy Studies Institute (PSI).August 5, 2003. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.psi.org.uk/news/pressrelease.aspnews_item_id=109 'Trade Unionism 1911 - 1914,' The Early 20th Century. www.bbc.co.uk. December 26, 2005, 'Trade unionism, international,' Helicon Publishing, www.tiscali.co.uk, December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0012067.html 'Workplace Employee Relations Surveys (WERS).' NatCent (National Centre for social Research). December 30, 2005. Available at: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/natcen/pages/or_employment.htm. [WERS began in 1980 as the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. It was originally conducted for then Department of Employment (now DfES) and is now conducted for the Department of Trade and Industry. Over the years the focus of the survey has shifted from relations between employers and trade unions to the nature and scope of communication between management and workforce. The research has been used extensively by government and the academic research community]. Dearden, N. 'Living Hell.' Redpepperarchive, August 2002. December 27, 2005. Available at: http://www.redpepper.org.uk/intarch/x-columbia-dearden.html Dickins, S. 'Business: The Economy. TUC: anatomy of decline.' BBC News Online. September 12, 1999. December 30, 2005. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_economy/445066.stm [Sarah Dickins is BBC Business Correspondent]. Gall, G. 'Trade union activism in Britain: crisis in capacity and ideology,' New socialist. Ideas for radical change. New socialist Magazine Issue 54. Nov 2005 to Jan 2006. [Article originally appeared in the Scottish Marxist magazine, Frontline]. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.newsocialist.org/index.phpid=618 [Gregor Gall is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party and Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Hertfordshire]. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/england/ear20_trade_unionism.shtml Hyman, R. 'An Emerging Agenda for Trade Unions' University of Warwick December 29, 2005. Available at: http://www.labournet.de/diskussion/gewerkschaft/hyman.html. First published in Labour and Globalisation: Results and Prospects. Edited by Munck, R. Liverpool University Press, 2004, pp.19-33. [Richard Hyman, professor of the London School of Economics, is an author of many books on the subject of trade unions and related topics]. Kelly, J. 'Union Revival - Organising around the world,' London School of Economics. November 2002. December 27, 2005. Available at: http://64.233.167.104/searchq=cache:AX3U8-SIenwJ:www.tuc.org.uk/newunionism/revival5.pdf+cadre+unionism+uk&hl=tl Monks, J. 'The union renaissance.' Trade Union Congress (TUC), Lecture to Leeds Business School. Press release, November 29, 2001. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/tuc-4064-f0.cfm. [Monks is secretary-general of TUC]. Parker, J. 2002. 'Conference debates strategies for union renewal,' European industrial relations observatory (eiro) on-line. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.eiro.eurofound.eu.int/1999/03/feature/uk9903187f.html. [Parker belongs to the Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU), Warwick Business School]. Richards, A. 'Challenges facing trade unions in the next decade in Wales and the rest of the UK.' Thompson's,' Annual Lecture, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, November 28, 2005. December 26, 2005. Available at: http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/Internal.aspNodeID=92110 [Andy Richards is Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) Welsh regional secretary]. Schifferes, S. 'The trade unions' long decline,' Last updated March 8, 2004. December 29, 2005. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3526917.stm. [Schifferes is BBC News Online economics reporter]. Read More