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Tuesday, 17 November 2009 12:30 |
We have all been bombarded over the past few weeks with news of ongoing (and escalating) disputes within various organisations; with Royal Mail and British Airways being perhaps the most notorious, which may have come as something of a wake up call to many who have perhaps over the past 10-15 years become accustomed to relatively smooth relations between Trade Unions and industry. It is clear though that since the start of this decade there has been a gradual increase in the number of industrial disputes, and we may be about to witness a mini ‘winter of discontent’, with numerous public sector organisations, particularly local authorities, battling to control their relationships with Trade Unions as they implement changes including changes to pay structures in an attempt to bring about equality to pay.
So should we be worried about the increases in industrial action?
Whilst you may have recently been predominantly occupied with fire fighting the side effects emanating from recent strikes (e.g. rearranging your business to cope with the postal strikes or, if you are based in Leeds, reorganising your rubbish to cope with the strikes from the bin men), we feel that there may also be some less obvious implications for businesses which may yet spin off from the recent strikes.
Although Trade Union membership has been gradually declining since the 1980’s, historically Trade Union membership increases following strike action; so we suspect that we may see a resurgence of interest in and membership of Trade Unions. If this is the case, there is likely to be a corresponding increase in the power wielded by Trade Unions, and potentially we may see more applications from Trade Unions for voluntary or compulsory recognition by employers. After all, a Trade Union only needs membership of 10% of staff before they can apply for recognition, and bearing in mind that an organisation only needs 21 or more workers, (of which 10% are members) for a Trade Union to be able to claim recognition, an increase in membership could affect more businesses that we might otherwise anticipate!
Therefore we would suggest that this is an optimal time, particularly considering the recent economic upheaval, to review your employee relations strategy with a view to ensuring that the staff in your organisation feel sufficiently communicated with, involved and valued. Perhaps it may even be worth considering setting up a staff representative forum, re-invigorating your current one, or upskilling your existing staff representatives to ensure that staff have an opportunity to contribute and feed back their views and concerns to the organisation, hopefully avoiding the need for a Trade Union to play the role of negotiator!
And whilst it has not been on the training agenda for many years, is now the time for you to bring back in formal training in employee relations for line and senior managers? Having experienced and competent line managers in the area of employee relations can be invaluable in organisations that prefer to diffuse situations and issues rather than wait for them to escalate.
If you would value our support in reviewing your employee relations strategy, developing your staff representative forum, or training your managers in employee relations this is an area of expertise within Jaluch so please do get in touch with us on 0207 152 4090 / 01425 479888 / 01189 349845 or contact us .
Employee opinion surveys
Another way of getting an insight into staff morale and employee relations would be to carry out an Employee Opinion Survey. For a quotation for a survey or for support with the work that you are already doing in this area, please do call us.
Power games
For a more light hearted view on the current trade union disputes we are experiencing, read Helen’s recent blog on the subject:
http://www.jaluch.co.uk/blog/power-games.html
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