date: 16 January 2003 embargo: 00.01hrs Friday 17 January 2003

Attention: industrial and political correspondents

Employers who consult get results says the TUC

The TUC is calling on the government today (Friday) to make sure that small firms do not miss out on the new consultative climate which will emerge in the UK when the European Directive on Information and Consultation comes into force.

Companies employing less than 50 people will not be covered by the Directive, and the TUC expresses concern in its submission to the DTI that small companies could benefit most from improving their communications channels with employees. The TUC says that most claims that end up in tribunals come from small firms, where there are few trade unions. If workers in small companies were given a voice, the TUC believes that individual disputes would be much more likely to be resolved within the workplace.

‘High performance workplaces’ - the TUC submission - says that companies with effective channels of communication between boardroom and shopfloor, where workers' views are listened to and acted upon by managers, are the firms most likely to succeed in today's business world. The document is being released to coincide with a conference at Congress House later today at which Minister for Employment Relations, Alan Johnson MP will be one of the key speakers.

Companies who consult with staff have the edge over their competitors that don’t, because it is often workers on the front line who are the first to see problems approaching. And where employees feel involved in the decision-making process, workplace morale is likely to be good, with staff more willing to accept change, says the TUC.

In firms where senior managers can trust employees and their trade unions enough to involve and consult with them, bosses find themselves spending less time dealing with day-to-day issues, and more time working across the bigger picture. But trust has to work both ways, says the TUC, for staff that believe they are being exploited will resent any attempt to pull them into decision-making process.

TUC General Secretary Elect Brendan Barber said: "Information and consultation has been a long time coming for most UK workers. For years they've looked across the Channel with envy at the extent to which European unions and workers get involved in the running of continental workplaces. A few good UK employers do engage in genuine consultation, but far too many employers only tell their staff about major changes when it is too late to change the result.

"With the Directive on the horizon, the chance to engage in proper partnership industrial relations is within the grasp of all managers, unions and employees in large and medium firms. Of course, workers want secure jobs and better conditions, but they also want to play a real part in making their companies more successful. And it's information and consultation which can make that happen."

The TUC believes a Code of Practice will be necessary to determine the areas over which consultation should take place. These should include the introduction of new working methods, mergers, cut-backs, collective redundancies, pensions, training, working hours and holidays, and health and safety.

Information and consultation must be through union representatives where unions are recognised, and where not via truly independent representatives elected by employees. The TUC also believes that employee representatives should have the right to paid time off to carry out their new functions, and for a right to time off for training.

Notes to Editors:

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Press release (700 words) issued 17 Jan 2003