The trade unions remain the mass organisations of the working class in Britain and the practical means by which workers defend themselves against the employers and the effects of the capitalist system. The unions remain central to the development of a left-wing movement and to the struggle for a socialist future in Britain.
Yet, as every trade union activist knows, the trade unions are facing massive problems resulting from a sustained government and employers' offensive which has yet to be reversed. An important part of organising a fight back is to fully understand the processes which have been taking place and exactly where the trade unions stand at the present time. The problems cannot be resolved by simply taking the optimistic view, or minimising the effects of the multiple altacks which have been taking place. The purpose of this pamphlet is to step back to take a look at these developments.
In fact trade unionism in Britain currently faces a more serious crisis than at any point since the late 1920s in the aftermath of the general strike. Membership levels have fallen dramatically: Affiliated TUC membership decreased from 9,800,000 in 1985 to 6,900,000 in 1995. Union membership fell from 39% of all employees in 1989 to 32.17 in 1995. The number of strike days has decreased even more sharply from 6,402,000 in 1985, lo 1,903,000 in 1990, and just 415,000 in 1995 (see table 1). For five years now strikes have been at a hundred-yearlow.
It is true that there has been an important upturn in activity recently from the lowest point of 1994, and this is important. Positive votes in strike ballots and the number of strike days were both up, and there is increasing pressure at the workplace for this to continue and strengthen. However, these increases were from a very low base, and took place at a time of considerable organisational weakness for the unions. A much sharper upturn in struggle remains entirel! possible, and will eventually come, but the obstacles it will have to surmount should not be underestimated.
Table 1: Strike figures, UK Total working days lost Workers in dispute 27,135,000 1984 1,464,000 791,000 6,402,000 1985 1,920,000 720,000 1986 1987 887,000 3,546,000 1988 790,000 3,702,000 4,128,000 1989 727,000 1990 298,000 1,903,000 761,000 176,000 1991 528,000 148,000 1992 649,000 1993 385,000 278,000 107,000 1994 415,000 1995 169,000 Source: Labour Market Trends, Employment Gacette.
Even more seriously, involvement of younger workers in the unions has fallen much more than is the case for older workers. Union membership for the under 20s fell from 167 in spring 1989 to just 6% in 1995. Trade unionism has become increasingly centred in, and dependent on, public sector employment. By 1994, 627 of public sector workers were unionised compared to only 237 in the private sector.
Women are now a full half of the workforce and still increasing. Howerer, many women are working part-time and levels of pay remain significantly belon those for men, as women are segregated into low-paying jobs. While the gap is closing, it is doing so slowly, and overall rises in women's pay relative to men's cover an increase in inequality among women. Rebuilding trade union strength means seriously addressing these issues.
The media present a scenario in which trade unions are just one, increasingly marginal, pressure group among others. This view has been endorsed by the Labour Party leadership. Indeed, after initial declarations that employers and unions would be treated as equals, current policies for industry go much further, elevating Labour's links with the employers to front rank. The priorities for a future Labour government, from the level of the minimum wage to taxation and union rights, will essentially be decided through consultation with employers. The role of unions will be to provide information on relatively peripheral issues and to ensure that their members accept the policies laid down from above. Despite their relegation by the Labour Party leadership, most trade union leaders and the TUC leaders share the politics and priorities of the Blairite
Icadership of the Labour Party in all its essentials. This is not because they are weak and vacillating individuals, although most of them are at this particular time, it is because of the position they occupy in society. They are a bureaucratic layer sustained by the privileges of their position and their role is that of brokers between the working class and the employers. Although they are further to the right today than at any time since the formation of the modern trade unions, their position in society and the role they perform in the unions remains the same.
There have been a number of responses to this situation. Some, like former Marxism Today writers who are now advisors to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, regard the days of trade unions as definitively over. In a new 'post-Fordist' world, collective action in the workplace becomes irrelevant and strategies for individual self-advancement take over. Those who have adopted such a view point have become increasingly hostile to any union activity at all. However, others, who have remained on the left, still hope that the unions can regain influence but look to some outside body to help to bring this about. Increasingly, the TUC leadership looks to the European Union as a saviour, hoping that in the future the "Social Chapter" of the Maastricht Treaty may be applied in Britain and that European Works Councils will be able to protect workers against multinational companies. Others continue to hope that, despite the pronouncements of Blair and his colleagues, things will be different if Labour comes to office; and that positive legislation over issues like the minimum wage and rights to union recognition will provide a way forward These ideas offer nothing to the working class. The way forward for the trade unions is not in the gift of Blair, Brown or Brussels. It is in the hands of the working class itself. It involves defeating new realism, winning back control of the unions for those for whom they were built, rebuilding union strength, and regaining the initiative against the employers. The following sections analyse some of the ideas that we see as the way forward. But before looking at these it is necessary to describe the current situation in a bit more detail. It is impossible to tackle the problem without a comprehensive understanding of the scale and nature of the problem.