Chapter 6 - Partnership at Work

chapter 6

partnership at work

6.1 Introduction

In line with resolution 26 of the 1998 Congress, the General Council have continued to develop the TUC's approach to partnership at work. The intention is to promote a new approach to industrial relations which will deliver secure and worthwhile jobs for trade union members. It is accepted by the General Council that employment security depends on employers operating efficient and effective organisations which provide quality products and services to customers. In the public sector, the General Council argue that the Government's ambitious agenda of improvement and reform will only be successful if it engages the skills, talents and enthusiasm of all public sector workers.

6.2 Partnership Task Group

In December the General Council agreed that a Task Group should be established to supervise the TUC's work on partnership. The membership of the Task Group is set out in the box below.

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(box)

Partnership Task Group

General Council:

Bill Connor (Chair)

Jeannie Drake

John Edmonds

Penny Holloway

Sir Ken Jackson

Barry Reamsbottom

John Monks

Unions:

Bob Abberley (UNISON)

John Allan ( TSSA)

Peter Carter (MSF)

Christopher Darke (BALPA)

Paul Gates (KFAT)

Chris Harding (GPMU)

Jim Lowe (UNIFI)

Margaret Prosser (T&G)

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(box ends)

In developing the Task Group's work programme, the General Council also noted the progress made in the previous Congress year, particularly the feasibility studyconducted by Alan Cave. As reported to the 1998 Congress, the General Council identified the following six principles of partnership:

· a shared commitment to the success of the organisation;

· a recognition of the legitimate roles of the employer and the trade union;

· a commitment by the employer to employment security for all workers and a commitment by the union to engage positively in a process of change;

· a focus on the quality of working life - particularly investment in the vocational and non-vocational training of workers;

· openness on both sides and a willingness by the employer to discuss plans and thoughts about the future when they are at the 'glint-in-the-eye' stage; and

· a shared understanding that the partnership is delivering measurable improvements for all parties, the employer, the union and its members.

The General Council endorsed the argument that arrangements inconsistent with these principles cannot be described as genuine partnerships.

In line with the conclusions of the feasibility study, the General Council agreed that the Task Group should:

· consider how information about new partnership arrangements might be collected and disseminated by the TUC to enable trade unions and employers to learn from the best of best practice;

· undertake a preliminary analysis of the TUC's training for full-time officials and lay representatives to determine whether these programmes are consistent with the principles of partnership;

· co-ordinate arrangements for a major TUC conference on partnership to be held in the first half of 1999; and

· give further consideration to the proposal in the Cave Report that the TUC should be able to offer advice and assistance to unions and employers wishing to work in partnership.

In addition, it was agreed that the TUC should publish a report on partnership, based on Alan Cave's work, which should be launched to coincide with the conference.

6.3 partnership conference

The TUC's conference on partnership was held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London on 24 May 1999. More than 400 participants attended the conference; and most major TUC affiliates were represented.

The morning session of the conference was chaired by Margaret Prosser and the afternoon session by John Edmonds, both members of the Partnership Task Group.

It was regarded as particularly important that the conference attracted the support of politicians at the highest level and the General Council were therefore pleased that the Prime Minister agreed to deliver the keynote speech at the event in which he noted that unions were a force for good in the economy and society. He also noted that trade unions had changed in the past three years and were likely to continue to change in order to adapt to the new legislative framework introduced by the LabourGovernment. The Prime Minister endorsed the approach to partnership taken by the General Council. He agreed that it was an essential part of the trade union role to seek to expose the bad employer. However, most workers did not believe that their employer was a bad employer. They believed that their employers could be more effective managers and could give workers more influence over decisions. But, in general, most people at work were proud of the organisations that employed them.

Mr Blair concluded by saying that unions had risen to the challenge of modernisation and were showing that they had a role to play. Tomorrow's unions would be organising unions, committed to the agenda of skills, equal opportunities and partnership. He urged both unions and employers to apply the partnership approach more widely.

The General Secretary addressed the conference immediately after the Prime Minister. He said that partnership was not an easy option. He emphasised that partnership is about delivering employment security, enriching the quality of working life and enhancing competitiveness. Partnership had proved its effectiveness through the Low Pay Commission. The process of evidence gathering and patient dialogue with all the parties concerned had ensured the smooth implementation of the national minimum wage. There is, he said, a compelling case to extend the same approach to other areas of labour market policy.

Most importantly, the General Secretary emphasised that partnership has delivered greater union influence over employers' strategic decisions as well as better jobs for union members. It addresses a much wider bargaining agenda than pay grievances and discipline. Applying the partnership approach in the public sector should also be a priority for trade unions in the immediate future.

Responding to the General Secretary, Adair Turner, Director-General of the CBI, welcomed the TUC's approach to partnership in the workplace. He accepted that the results delivered by unions and employers working together were impressive. However, he endorsed the view, which the General Council explicitly reject, that partnership can be established in the absence of recognised independent trade unions. Furthermore, Mr Turner expressed real scepticism about social partnership at either national or European level. He was opposed to any widening of the social dialogue or major new social policy initiatives in the EU based on agreements between the social partners.

Allan Larsson, Director-General, DG V European Commission, also addressed the Conference. He noted that maintaining and developing the prosperity of the European economy depended critically on the role of the social partners, particularly their ability to make progress on a shared agenda to develop a partnership for a new organisation of work. He concluded by arguing that partnership was essential for productivity growth in Europe. This had to be underpinned by minimum standards and a willingness by the social partners to promote excellence. It required a culture of adaptation and anticipation of change which in turn demanded trust and co-operation on the basis of informed choices. Structured and dynamic partnership was an essential ingredient of success.

The final major speech of the day was delivered by the Secretary of State for Tradeand Industry, Stephen Byers, who announced that the Government planned to demonstrate their commitment to partnership by establishing a Partnership Fund with £5 million available over four years. The Secretary of State's remarks focused on the challenge of change and the role of workplace partnership in managing the process to deliver a successful, knowledge-driven economy in the 21st century. Workers had to be equipped with appropriate skills and given the confidence to appreciate that change was not necessarily a threat. He stressed that unions are uniquely placed to provide this assistance and ensure that workers were able to prosper in a more challenging labour market.

The Secretary of State concluded by emphasising his commitment to the creation of fairness in the workplace and a new climate of partnership in the country. Unions needed to ensure that they can make a continuing contribution to the prosperity of their members and the businesses in which they work. Equally, the Government had to look hard at how it can bring about the culture change in the workplace. Partnership will enable unions, employers and government to face the challenges of the next century.

In addition to the keynote speeches, presentations were also made by unions and employers who had developed successful partnerships. The organisations presenting these case studies were:

· Unisys and UNIFI;

· Tesco and USDAW;

· ALSTOM and the AEEU;

· Parkside Community NHS Trust/Severn NHS Trust and UNISON;

· the Inland Revenue and PCS;

· Legal and General and MSF.

All the presentations noted the long and patient process of relationship building that was essential for a successful partnership. They were all characterised by measurable benefits for workers and the employer. In particular, unions had begun to exercise more influence over job design, work organisation and wider strategic questions. The employers were clear that they were able to manage change more effectively and believed that partnership had added real value to the organisation.

Summarising the discussion that had taken place during the day, Bill Connor, Chair, TUC Partnership Task Group said that the case studies showed there is a compelling case for partnership. They are hard evidence that partnership works and proof too that partnership is hard work.

6.4 partners for progress: new unionism in the workplace

Published to coincide with the conference,Partners for Progress: New Unionism in the Workplace, is the central policy statement setting out the TUC's case for partnership. It includes a message from the Prime Minister endorsing the conclusion of the report that "Britain works best when unions and employers work together". Furthermore, it includes a supportive statement from the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and 16 endorsements from major employers in both the public and private sectors.

The document draws together a statement of the principles of partnership and givespractical examples of how partnership is operating in virtually every sector of the economy. In particular, it notes that successful partnerships require: leadership - on all sides; a clear understanding of the case for changing the industrial relations culture; an investment of time and effort in relationship building; training and education for all participants, both unions and management, to ensure that they have the skills to work in partnership; an understanding of the pressures on each partner and an understanding of the behaviour that promotes partnership.

Illustrating the argument with case studies, the report shows that effective and principled workplace partnerships can make a genuine value adding contribution to enterprises in the following areas:

· Change management

· Communications

· Training and development

· Disseminating best practice

· Improving personnel performance

Although there are many organisations that have begun to embrace the partnership approach, the report notes that it is still applied by only a minority of employers. On the other hand, the case studies set out in the document show that examples of partnership can be found throughout the trade union movement - in public and private sectors, in retail, manufacturing and financial services.

6.5 training needs analysis

In line with the Task Group's agreed work programme the TUC's National Education Centre was commissioned to benchmark against the principles of partnership the TUC's courses for full time officers, lay representatives and trainee organisers. The rationale for the exercise was that partnership requires a very different portfolio of skills from collective bargaining as traditionally understood. Joint problem solving skills are not the same as negotiating skills and partnership also puts a premium on facilitation, brokering, listening and consulting. Furthermore, greater union involvement in the organisational planning process requires an understanding of business issues and economics. Equipping all trade union representatives with partnership skills is consequently a substantial undertaking.

In June the Task Group considered the preliminary findings from the training needs analysis and agreed the following initial recommendations:

· The case studies included in Partners for Progress: New Unionism in the Workplace should be revisited, in conjunction with the union officers, representatives and employers involved, to identify the skills, knowledge, attitudes and understanding which underpinned effective union involvement in developing and sustaining those partnerships.

· The findings of this project should be used to assess:

- how partnership can be incorporated as a theme in all TUC programmes;

- the additions or adjustments needed to existing programmes;

- new modules which should be developed; and

- whether any modifications might be needed to the standard TUC educational methods.

· There should be a new programme of training available for representatives which will enable them to develop an understanding of business issues, corporate financial information and economics. The new programme should also focus on the development of joint problem solving.

· In relation to the Organising Academy, the Task Group noted that, where it is relevant, partnership is being promoted as an element in a successful organising strategy. However, it is also clear that inevitable tensions can exist between the active promotion of partnership and the `anger, hope, action' model of organisation. It is important for Academy trainees to understand that different situations require different approaches. Partnership may not be the right model when confronted by a bad employer, but equally, an adversarial approach may not work with skilled and highly educated workers concerned about their employability, access to continuing training and quality of working life issues. It will never be possible to resolve these tensions entirely, but, at the very least, partnership must be fully integrated into the TUC's organising initiatives and should be understood as a strategy to promote union growth.

The Task Group and the General Council will give further consideration to these issues in the forthcoming Congress year.

6.6 Partnership Fund

The initial announcement of the Partnership Fund was made at the TUC's conference on 24 May. In June the Task Group considered the arrangements for applications to the Fund. By July 1999 it was not yet clear what the precise arrangements will be. However, the Task Group welcomed the establishment of the Fund and agreed that further discussions should take place with the DTI on the allocation of these resources.

6.7 TUC Partnership Institute

In June the Task Group considered an outline proposal for a new TUC Partnership Institute. This would be attached to the new Management Centre at the NEC and would be a national source of advice, support and consultancy for unions and employers developing the partnership approach. Having agreed the proposal in principle, the Task Group also agreed that more detailed proposals should be developed which :

· set out the range and character of advice and support services that would be offered;

· established the ground rules under which the unit would work in its relations with unions and employers;

· identified a number of people with the appropriate skills and experience who could carry the confidence of unions in taking on sensitive project work;

· outlined the approach to the pricing of these services; and

· explored the scope for joint working with other reputable bodies with an interest in the partnership agenda.

The Task Group will consider a further report on this matter before making some final recommendations for the approval of the General Council.

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