Praise for Theresa May’s plans to put workers on boards forgets the Tories’ shameful curbs on unions

Theresa May wants to have worker representation on boards, but without undoing the onerous trade union restrictions, the policy would be pointless.

Her reason for wanting this policy is evidence based. Countries which have this system, such as Germany and the Nordic countries tend to have successful companies and successful economies. Therefore if Britain adopts the policy, we will also have successful companies and economy.

However, this logic ignores the difference in culture and law across the broad range of labour relations. Since Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party have legislated the most onerous trade union law in the world. For example, it is illegal in the UK for a union rep to enter a shop floor and speak to workers, without the workers first holding a ballot and winning a majority in favour. Due to this, it is virtually impossible for unions to spread their message in the workplace.

So although many Labour people welcome Theresa May’s intention, the reality is that unless the worker reps have real power, the policy would be unlikely to have an effect.

It would be a similar story to the Texan politician who discovered that children who grow up surrounded by books go on to have better education. He resolved to send every child in his state books throughout their youth. It failed as a policy because the parents didn’t read books with their children. A working class dad is more likely to bond with his child in the workshop or garage than over a book. This is why the Sure Start policy was introduced by Labour, to get working parents reading to their child.

If Theresa May intends to reverse the legislation on trade unions and encourage trade unions to proliferate then this would be welcome by many Labour members, but it would be most unwelcome by many Conservatives, so I don’t expect this to happen.

It must be the case that some firms in Germany are large enough to be compelled to have a worker representative, but are hostile to trade unions or guilds. By law they must comply, but I imagine it is a dressed up compliance, without concurring to the spirit of the policy.

In the German system, the workers representatives sit on a lower tier board to the directors. Their board is concerned with the operations of the company. This ensures that the board of directors are not conflicted in their fiduciary duties, that the company exists to make a profit. In this country, our companies don’t have such a thing as a supervisory board. Does Theresa propose that we should? It doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, but without the worker representative having the teeth of trade union backing, I wonder if this policy would create an extra layer of bureaucracy, while being ignored by the directors.

It’s best to regard Theresa May’s policy as mood music. It makes the Tories look like they care, but it’s unlikely to ever change anything. We shouldn’t thank the prime minister for this. We should point out the flaws.