British Unions Gather to Face New Challenges

By Peter O'Brien

September's Trade Union Congress in Britain, number 137 since the creation of the world's first peak union body in 1868, provided the backdrop for the British trade union movement's annual meeting to debate the opportunities and challenges facing organised labour at home and abroad.

Key issues that vexed the minds of delegates who gathered in Brighton, included organising strategies, equal rights, pensions, economic and social affairs and, of course, relations with the current Labour Government. True to form, the British press and media hunted for any signs of disagreement between the unions and the Government, and the journalist pack did not have to search too hard to find evidence of division between the respective 'political and industrial wings' of the British labour movement.

Labour's victory in this year's General Election secured the Party an unprecedented third successive term, albeit with a significantly reduced overall majority, down from 167 to 66. In the run-up to the election, Labour-affiliated unions agreed a series of wide-ranging proposals with the Party, under the banner of the 'Warwick Agreement'. The Agreement sets the tone of Labour's programme for a third term, and contains new commitments to deliver greater fairness at work, including additional 'family-friendly' employment rights. In the aftermath of the summer's most bitter industrial dispute, when 600 mainly Asian workers were summarily dismissed by the American multinational, Gate Gourmet, in a clash over working practices, unions have also repeated their demand for the Government to repeal laws that prohibit unions from engaging in sympathetic or secondary action.

A recent study provides food for thought for British trade unions. Union membership today stands at 6.7 million, half the figure it was at the height of trade union power in 1979. Initial findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) suggests that two-thirds of workplaces in Britain have no union members, while in the private sector this figure rises to 77%. The good news is the rate of recognition agreements in larger workplaces has stabilised, after a long period of decline. However, with over a third of public sector workers not holding union membership, major challenges confront British unions as they look to build their presence across all parts of the economy.

(Worksite: issues in workplace relations)