Unions should be leading by example and practising what they preach – A personal perspective

By Linda Weatherhead

Unions are not the best workplaces. I have worked for a number of unions, one in the UK, and every time I, as an employee, raised a workplace issue the response was always along the lines of “If you think it is bad here you should see how the other unions operate”. Is our only aspiration to be the best of the worst?

Unions are in a distinct and unique position to innovate. Best practice in employment runs through our veins, our membership and leadership support it and we have the research and practical experience to know what works and what doesn’t. The principles of equality and fairness are second nature to us. However there is a huge internal resistance to change within the movement.

In my view unions deservedly have a bad reputation as employers. Members can see what is happening on the shop floor and that does not encourage interest in union positions.

My experience has been that a large proportion of the union workforce has no commitment to unionism and are not all that familiar with what we do. A 1950s style hierarchy seems to apply with the view that more “junior” members of staff are’ just working to instruction’ rather than having a participatory role in what the union does, in which case it wouldn’t matter if they are working for an estate agent or a union – a job is a job. Of course most of these less senior staff are women and more likely to be BME.

For political organisations there is surprisingly little turnover of staff in trade unions. Political organisations need new ideas and approaches, they need to be refreshed on a regular basis, but like an old version of the civil service, the union movement rewards for time serving and people get comfortable. You move up the scale by being appointed to a management position, even if you have no skills or experience in management.

The pursuit of ideals often turns into the pursuit of power and change becomes a threat rather than an aspiration. Those at the top, regardless of political affiliation, develop a vested interest in inertia and so there is little movement and no room for new ideas. Predominantly white and male is not moving but is not representative.

Cronyism is the prevailing employment strategy so that rather than getting new ideas you are looking into the mirror. Naked emperors abound. The Union committee, the Board of Directors, don’t want to undermine the leadership and don’t want to be seen to be criticising the workers.

Where do we go from here?

The answers are not difficult but require a genuine commitment from union leaders. How many union leaders have ever run for election on a platform of improving the workplace for their own unions workers? None.

The answers seem to be clear. We need to;

* Adopt best practice.

* Recruit people who have a commitment to unionism.

* Challenge hierarchies and look at new ways of organising work.

* Recruit on merit. Get the best people for the job and independent advice. And only appoint managers who can manage.

* Adopt an equality action plan with actions aimed at ensuring the union workforce and the senior officials of the union are representative of the membership and society as a whole.

* Develop the workforce.

* Encourage exchanges and secondments.

My visionary union leadership would see their election as an opportunity to create utopia in the workplace, to put into practice something that we work for day upon day.

A smart employer once asked me “And what is the union policy for its workers on this?” Unions can make the Achilles heel a model for negotiations. All it requires is that we practice what we preach.