Supersized Unions

I wrote last week about a trade union member who was finding real problems in getting support from her trade union - in connection with a potential equal pay claim.

I didn't have time, at the time, to publish these previous posts from the blog site which explain the difficulties facing ordinary members over the new breed of mega or 'supersized' unions.  

So, here they are now and I hope they give people food for thought because the UK will soon be down to one or two mega trade unions - which will dominate the whole trade union movement.

And just like any other industry without more effective regulation - that cannot be good for the consumer, the little guy - the ordinary union member who might wish to complain, but has no one to look at the issues involved dispassionately - with an independent eye.    

Even the Odds (10 August 2013)

Here's my response to a reader who contacted me over dispute his wife is having with her trade union - over equal pay.

Essentially, the woman (a long standing union member) was told that she had 'missed the boat' on equal pay and that the union would not take up her case - even though at face value it seemed like a perfectly good claim.

Now, I've written about this problem many times on the blog site - but one of the main problems that people face(assuming they have a credible case) is that trade unions are both 'judge and jury' when it comes to dealing with complaints from ordinary members.  

The only appeal is an internal one and unlike in most other walks of public life - a union member who feels aggrieved cannot take their case to some form of independent adjudication.

Which is something that you would think the trade unions would support - since they support it everywhere else - but they don't.

And like so many issues to do with trade unions - which are terribly inward looking and conservative organisations in my experience - reform is likely to come from outside the movement rather than from within,  as it did in relation to strike ballots, for example.

"Dear B

I am sorry to hear about your wife's terrible experience with her trade union over Equal Pay.

Unfortunately, I have heard the same story many times before - where the union claims to have written to all of its members and done all in its power to encourage members to pursue equal pay claims against their employers.

In my experience of talking to ordinary union members, and also many union stewards, I am told that the trade unions never really pulled out all the stops over equal pay and left many of their members high and dry, even though they had perfectly good claims. What seems to be happening now is that the unions are trying to re-write history to cover up their embarrassment and lack of activity over equal pay.

So I would complain straight to the union's general secretary and ask the union to confirm when members were written to, by whom and I would ask to be provided with a copy of this letter. I would also ask for a copy of any adverts that the trade union claims to have placed explaining members' rights in relation to equal pay, in local newspapers and suchlike.

What makes me laugh is that the trade unions don't behave this way when it comes to other big issues, of course - when it comes to strike ballots, the Political Fund Ballot or in relation to pay negotiations, for example, all members are involved - they don't have to 'opt in' which seems to be what the unions are saying when it comes to equal pay. 

But why? Because that is the obvious question to ask - why were the unions so reticent when it came to taking up equal pay claims on behalf of all of their eligible members? In my view, the answer is that in far too many cases the unions were too close and too cosy with the employers.

As well as complaining to the union general secretary,  I would enlist the support of your local MSP. If that person is a Labour MSP, you may find them reluctant to criticise the trade union because of the close Labour/union links in which case you may wish to approach an MSP from another party who is prepared to call a spade a spade.

Finally, I would just say that if there trade unions were independently regulated your wife would have a much better crack at getting a fair hearing over her complaint. Banks, local councils, the NHS, the press and media teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses and Property Managers are all independently regulated these days - but not trade unions themselves, so the little guy cannot appeal to independent adjudication in the event of a dispute. You may wish to take that issue up with your MSP as well. 
  

Good luck.

Mark Irvine "  

Supersized Unions (30 May 2013)

A week or so ago the boss of Unite - Len McCluskey - tried to throw his weight around by telling the Labour leader - Ed Miliband - whom he should have as his trusted aides and allies in the Labour shadow cabinet. 

Quite understandably, I have to say, Ed told Len where to get off - which he was bound to do, of course, especially after receiving this rude and unsolicited advice in the columns of the New Statesman magazine.

Yet the influence of the Bubs (Britain's unions bosses) is growing as UK unions continue to merge and get ever larger - the three big public sector unions (GMB, Unison and Unite) effectively picked the current Labour leader over the heaads of ordinary members - and oon we may be down to two or maybe even one giant, supersized public sector union.

In which case the Bub at the top (just imagine a giant sized version Len McCluskey) will exercise enormous influence over the Labour Party - because the trade unions now dominate Labour Party finances in a way that hasn't been true for more than 20 years. 

Now in one sense I couldn't give two hoots about what's happening - because if the trade union bosses want to paint themselves into a corner - then that's their lookout.

But on the other hand I have been a trade unionist all my life - and I would prefer trade unions to succeed and become more relevant - although that will only happen when they become less partisan and start to reflect the diverse views (political and otherwise) - of the members that they claim to represent.

In the meantime, there's an unarguable case for the trade unions to be regulated as happens in other areas of public life - where the little guy can complain and hold the big guy to account .

Smaller Banks, Bigger Unions (21 December 2013)

News reports during the week suggested that the boss of Britain's third largest union - Paul Kenny of the GMB - is preparing to stand down early from his post.

Has this anything to do with the likely merger between GMB and Unison?

I don't know, I have to admit.

But if and when a new union comes about - GUMBO or whatever it's called will have around 1.9 million members - even more than the current pack leader, Unite, with 1.5 million members.

I would say it's time that people stopped and ask themselves whether this trend towards supersized unions is in the interests of ordinary union members.

Because in any other walk of life it wouldn't be allowed - without putting a series of checks and balances into the system.

Supersize Me (21 January 2012)

Britain's union bosses (the Bubs) are always banging on about the need for healthy competition on the high street - and the benefits of cutting the big banks down to size.

But the unions are allowed to play by very different rules themselves - seems like they just keep on getting bigger and bigger - and growing in size.

The latest union merger on the cards is one between Unite and PCS (the civil service union) - both of whom are on a collision course with the government over public sector pensions.

A new union would have a combined membership of 1.8 million members - in effect a new super union would be created - which would dwarf second placed Unison with only 1.3 million members.

But of course Unison and GMB have already been in merger talks for some time - and if they agree to tie the knot - then only two unions would represent 3.6 million people - the bulk of the UK's union membership.

At a time when big monopoly suppliers of services - generally speaking - have acquired a pretty bad name for being able to dictate terms to their customers - because of the lack of choice and inability to take their business elsewhere.

The creation of these ever-bigger 'super-size' unions also has big implications for the Labour party.

Because as everyone knows the trade unions effectively decided the outcome of the recent Labour leadership elections - both Ed Miliband and Johann Lamont owe their positions to union votes - from GMB, Unison and Unite.

So in future only two Bubs may have this level of influence and if the trend continues, who knows - maybe there will be just one.

Now there are some arguments to be made for 'big is best' - including the usual ones about economies of scale and so forth.

But the problem with the trade union sector is that it is almost entirely unregulated - ordinary union members have nowhere to go if they have a complaint - in terms of an independent outside body at least.

If these mergers were taking place in the private sector - they would be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission - which happened recently when News International trying to buy Sky TV.

In addition other parts of society - both public and private - what goes on is regulated by a whole host of public watchdogs - and while you can argue about their effectiveness in some cases - at least they exist.

Here's what I had to say on the subject back in November 2009.

Smaller Banks, Bigger Unions (November 6th 2009)

Much has been said - and written - this week about cutting the big high street banks down to size.

Apparently everyone now believes that smaller banks are good for us. Because smaller banks means more banks - that have to compete with one another - and the resulting competition is good for customers.

The big guy always finds it much harder to beat up on the little guy - if the little guy can just take his or her business elsewhere.

So far, so good - sounds reasonable enough.

But isn't it interesting that while the big banks are being forced to become smaller - to get closer to their customers - that trade unions in the UK are becoming ever larger and more remote from their members.

The latest move towards another super union - see post dated 16 September 2009 - is the planned merger between GMB and Unison - which would create a union of around 2 million members.

But Unison itself is the product of an arranged marriage of what used to be three separate unions - COSHE, NALGO and NUPE - which tied the knot to become Unison in 1993.

And this latest giant union is all about keeping up with the Joneses, in the shape of Unite - currently the largest union in the land with 1.5 million members - and itself the product of a previous merger between Amicus and the old transport union, TGWU.

The fact is that these new super unions are run just like giant businesses - except that they are not as well regulated as businesses - arguably they are subject to less scrutiny than your average corner shop.

In terms of service standards - ordinary union members do not have an independent body to turn to for support, if they have a problem or complaint - there is no equivalent of the Financial Services Ombudsman, for example.

In future, union members will get even less choice from these mega unions - which all give huge sums of money to the Labour Party - despite the fact that the great majority of union members support other parties - or no party at all.

The present government has no interest in making the union more accountable to their members - because the Labour Party is so heavily dependent on the trade unions for financial support.

But it will be interesting to see what happens after the next general election - maybe the unions will be forced to move with the times. A healthy dose of external and independent scrutiny - would certainly help the unions become more accountable to their members.