Account of British Trade Unions by Kelly - Essay Example

Gopinathan Kelly's Account Of British Trade Unions 04 December 2007 KELLY'S (2005) ACCOUNT OF BRITISH TRADE UNIONS History Of Trade Unions Ludwig Josef Brentano (1844 - 1931) 1, thefamous German economist, linked modern trade unionism to the medieval guild system (society of people with similar interest.) In his book 'Die Arbeitergilden der Gegenwart' he describes Trade Union as an association of labourers in a particular trade, industry, or company, created for the purpose of securing improvements in pay, benefits, working conditions, or social and political status through collective bargaining and ongoing process of negotiations between representatives of workers and employers to establish the conditions of employment. The collectively determined agreement cover not only wages but also hiring practices, layoffs, promotions, job functions, working conditions and hours, worker discipline and termination, and benefit programs. Evolving through the vigorous challenges of time these dictums have not changed and hold true even today. Background A quarter of a century ago almost 75% of the workforce were enrolled as members of a trade union. Presently in the public sector 3 out of every 5 workers are union members and has greater aggregate membership than the private sector where only one employee out of 6 is a union member. Sue Fernie and David Metcalf in their Book "Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise" 2 (2005) analyses the decline of trade unions and its future prospects. It contains contributions from leading analysts on the labour movement including Richard Freeman, John Kelly, Paul Willman, Howard Gospel, Rebecca Givan, David Marsden, Morris Kleiner and Claus Schnabel. In Chapter 4 of the Book discussing "Social Movement Theory and Union Revitalization in Britain", John Kelly, paints a very gloomy picture on the future prospects of trade union movement in Britain. According to him a stage has reached where workers in Britain no longer feel the need for collective representation of their interests. In this treatise we shall try to understand how relevant Kelly's observations are. Trends in Trade Unions The trends over the last two decades indicate that the influence of British trade unions have been on the decline. Surveys have indicated a gradual fall in the union membership since the early 1980s. Another disturbing trend noticed was the reluctance by the employers to recognise unions as representatives of their employees for collective bargaining. As a result of this unions have not been able to retain their authority at workplaces. It was noticed that with the erosion in their bargaining power there was a drop in the incomes of the unions adversely affecting their vibrancy. Managements started bypassing unions over work models, deployment/ redeployment of labour force, their recruitment and training etc, which were domains where unions had a dominating influence. Unions being circumvented by the managements had an adverse effect on union membership and its influence over the employees. Unhelpful government legislations in the 1980s further eroded union status and employers started taking advantage of the situation. This state of affairs led to another far-reaching trend in workplace disputes. Meaningful two-way dialogue was a recognized form of unions' collective bargaining ethos. Gradually this form of two-way communication started to spillover beyond unions to non-union formats. This form of informal direct two-way dialogue with entities such as problem-solving groups and the statutory works council, etc, started making incursions into other domains of formal two-way dialogues also. It is of interest to note that in the United States under the Wagner Act the union voice is the only permitted form of dialogue for resolution of work place disputes. Countries who have adopted democratic principles of governance for their society accepts only formal employee voice provided by recognised trade unions as an accepted arrangement for workplace dispute resolution. However, in Britain a new approach for worker-management dialogues started emerging where unions are not the only arbitrators for dispute resolution. Since 1960s Human Resource Management (HRM) practices in Britain have adopted independent non-union channels of two-way communication in addition to traditional dialogue systems. In some places this led to establishment of non-union employee-employer committee to handle work places concerns. Surprisingly such conflicting systems seamlessly and successfully coexisted to the detriment of working class. Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions The rise in the 'never membership' has been studied by many scholars. In an article published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, Bryson, A. and Gomez, R. (2005) 3 maintains that there could be three possible explanations for the rise in never-membership: First, it could be that the types of worker who never became members in the past are increasing as a proportion of the workforce. Second, certain types of worker who became members in the past are less inclined to do so now. The third possibility is that, even if workers are similarly inclined to purchase membership, they are facing greater cost constraints in doing so, thereby creating greater levels of frustrated demand for membership. The aversion to opt for membership where opportunity exists to join a recognized union explains the reasons for density declines within unionised workplaces. It is this decline rather than non-unionised workplaces that accounts for the overall drop in union membership during the 1990s. The well-researched British Social Attitudes Surveys (B S A S) samples since early 1980s illustrate the double-whammy effect of attrition in membership and the rise in the percentage of never-members. Figure -1 4 at Appendix 'A' explains that during the period 1983 - 2001 the percentage of employees who had never been a member of a union rose from 28% to 31% while overall membership count fell from 49% to 31%. The contribution of 'Greenfield' projects to no membership syndrome cannot be overlooked. Most young workers are born into 'Greenfield sites' where there is little or no union presence but meets some minimum level of acceptability in terms of pay and working conditions. Chances of they remaining non-unionised are much higher. Non-union representation is one type of accepted working arrangement also termed one kind of 'experience good'. This non-union status remains even if workers display a desire for representation because raising a union is a costly affair and workers will simply rationalize their non-union status by claiming that they are 'better off' and 'happier' working in a non-union environment. Effects of Unionisation on Job Satisfaction. The unionisation and job satisfaction has been a favourite topic for discussions amongst social activists the world over. The genesis of trade unions can be traced to employee dissatisfaction at work places. Even after hundreds of years of proletariat struggle, job satisfaction and unionisation still run parallel to each other failing to find meeting point. History has taught us that the exploiter and the exploited will continue to walk this earth till human race lasts. In this there is no distinction between the state apparatus and private enterprise as this evil pervades all assortments of institutions. The stronger exploiting the weaker is an expected and accepted social reality. Humans being a social animal this natural phenomenon will continue to be so. Discarding the confrontationist attitude and coming on to a common platform for the general good of all the stakeholders is the imperative of the day. In a Discussion Paper 5 brought out by The Institute for the Study of Labour establishes that job satisfaction, union membership and union recognition are intricately intertwined. It considers job satisfaction as a variable in explaining labour market behaviours. Trade unions are reputed for clinging to standard procedures and indifferent bureaucratic practices that benefit only the mediocre job seekers with relatively low I Q. Even then seekers for union jobs outstrip their supply and employers pick and choose the very best from this mediocre lot. Those who had aspired for union jobs and were unable to get will then have to queue behind the more intelligent and enterprising non-union job seekers. Once at the workplace these dejected lots' desire for unionisation remain frustrated. Nor are they able to successfully organise a union from the scratch, which is not their cup of tea. This spillover of workers from union job seekers to the non-union sector is what according to Bryson and Gomez, (2003) produces the representation gap. With the passage of Employment Act 1982, 'closed shop' and 'open shop' regime afforded employees an option to join or not to join a trade union set-up. The term "closed shop" signifies an establishment employing only members of a labour union. The "union shop" indicates a company where employees do not have to belong to a labour union when hired but are required to join within a specified period of time in order to keep their jobs. An "open shop" is one that does not compel its employees to become union members. Legal changes in the 1990s protect workers against discriminatory action on the grounds of union status. The role played by trade unions through workplace unionisation in enhancing job satisfaction has always been point a point of contention. The Discussion Paper observes that relationship between individual membership and job satisfaction essentially depended upon whether the workplace union is recognised or not. Surveys illustrate that union- members satisfaction level is lower compared to that of non-union members. This is a very contradicting consequence. This calls for introspection on the part of the unions. Some arguments quoted in the Discussion Paper to explain this puzzle is that of Freeman and Medoff's, 6 (1984), whose 'exit-voice' hypothesis, stresses that members use their right to be heard for improving the bargaining power of the trade unions. Another explanation is that of Bender and Sloane, (1995) 7 who emphasise that unions come into being themselves where working conditions are poor. This also explains the relationship between unionisation and job satisfaction. Yet another observation by Heywood et al. (2002) 8 and Bryson et al. (2004) 9 emphasises the role of endogenous sorting of dissatisfied individuals into membership. In yet another Research Paper 10 Alex Bryson deals with the question: what impact do trade unions have on workplace governance, and how has this changed during two decades of union decline Using nationally representative data from the British Social Attitudes Surveys (B S A S) 1983-1998, he analysis connection between unionisation and employee perceptions on three aspects of workplace governance as under: The Employee Relationship Climate. Employees' perceptions of workplace governance are better where there is a balance of power between unions and management at the workplace. Managers' Treatment Of Employees And Unions. Employees' perceptions of workplace governance are better where management supports union membership, and are poorest where they actively discourage membership. Managerial Performance. Employees' perception of union effectiveness is positively associated with employees' perceptions of good workplace governance. Comparison Of Trends In Labour Markets Of Britain, Canada, And The USA A comparative study of the trends in youth-adult differences that are demanding unionisation in the United States of American, British, and Canadian work force is reflected in the graphics in Appendix 'B' 11. Table 1 shows the percentage of union members in the labour force by age group in Britain, Canada, and the United States in 1990s. It shows a steady decline in union density across adult age groups in all three countries, with the largest decline in absolute percentage point terms occurring in Britain. In Canada there was a slight increase in union density amongst youth in 2000 as compared to 1995, but still lower than the figure estimated in 1990. In all three countries, adults were more unionised than youth. In Figure 1 12, the adult-youth density differential for each country is plotted against three time periods taken in the 1990s. Interestingly, three distinct patterns emerge. In Britain, the differential has steadily increased, whereas in the US the differential has steadily declined. In Canada the differential rose between 1990 and 1995, only to fall back to its 1990 level in 2000. Conclusion The last thirty years have no parallel in history. Never before has there been such relentless social, political, economic and technological change that has taken place in such a short span of time in human history. Trade unions around the world are struggling to come to terms with this change, much of which requires a profound re-thinking of union roles and practices. As brought out by Conor Cradden and Peter Hall-Jones 13 they have to reform themselves and adapt to an environment where change is the only constant. According to them there are two central phenomena that are driving these changes. First there is the rise to dominance of neo-liberalism, which has also increased the influence of international regulatory organisations such as the WTO, World Bank and IMF. Secondly, there is the wave of democratisation that began in Europe in the 1970s (Spain, Portugal and Greece) then swept much of Latin America, South-East Asia and, most recently, the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe. There can be little doubt that the era of authoritarian and military regimes is rapidly moving into the realms of history. These twin developments have had a major effect on government and employer approaches to industrial relations. The resolution of industrial conflict has become less of a policy priority in itself as governments have turned their attention to the international performance of national economies and as the 'threat' of communism has faded. At the same time, international competition has made cost-reduction increasingly important for industry survival. The result has been a change in the focus of industrial relations policy. Rather than being a mechanism to avoid conflict, the aim of I R policy is turning to enhancement of competitiveness. Appendix - A APPENDIX 'B' APPENDIX 'B' (cont) WORK CITED Bender, K., Sloane, P. J. (1998). "Job Satisfaction, Trade Unions, and Exit-Voice Revisited", Industrial and Labour Relations Review, vol. 51 (2), pp. 222-40. Bryson, A., Gomez, R. and Willman, P. (2004). 'The End of the Affair The Decline in Employers' Propensity to Unionise', in J. Kelly and P. Willman (eds.), Union Organization and Activity, London: Routledge. Bryson, A. and Gomez, R. (2005) 'Why Have Workers Stopped Joining Unions Accounting for the Rise in Never-Membership in Britain', British Journal of Industrial Relations, 43:1, 67-92. Available online at http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp0589.pdf (accessed on 04 December 2007) Conor Cradden and Peter Hall-Jones in an article published in the Public Services International FOCUS 1/05 can be accessed at http://www.world-psi.org/Content/ContentGroups/English7/Focus2/Focus_articles_20051/Trade_union_reform.htm (accessed on 04 December 2007) Discussion Paper No.1498 dated February 2005 and published by The Institute for the Study of Labour (I Z A), P.O. Box 724053072, Bonn, Germany, Mr. Alex Bryson from the Policy Studies Institute, Mr. Lorenzo Cappellari of the Catholic University of Milan, and Mr. Claudio Lucifora from the Catholic University of Milan. Downloadable at ftp://ftp.iza.org/dps/dp1498.pdf (accessed on 04 December 2007) Freeman, R. B. and Medoff, J. L. (1984). What Do Unions Do New York: Basic Books. Heywood, J. S., Siebert, W. S., and Wei, X. (2002). "Worker Sorting and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Union and Government Jobs", Industrial and Labour Relations Review, vol. 55(4), pp. 595-609. Ludwig Josef Brentano (1871-72). Die Arbeitergilden der Gegenwart. 2 vols., Leipzig: Duncker und Humblot. (English: On the History and Development of Gilds and the Origins of Trade Unions. 1870.) Research Discussion Paper 8 "Union Effects on Workplace Governance, 1983-1998", Alex Bryson, a Principal Research Fellow at the Policy Study Institute (P S I), London (available at http://www.psi.org.uk/publications/publication.asppublication_id=271 (accessed on 04 December 2007) "Trade Unions: Resurgence or Demise" by Fernie S and Metcalf D (2005) published by Taylor and Francis, Routledge, London (2005). Read More