Tuesday 24th January 2012 | 06:56

John Healey: Time for unions to fight back against Tory attack

The Labour MP tells PoliticsHome that a new campaign signals a serious Tory intent to step up the attack on unions and protections for people at work.

Tonight a new Tory front campaign and a fresh assault on trade unions will be launched in Parliament. The Trade Union Reform [sic] Campaign boasts a “Parliamentary Council” of right-wing hardliners like Dominic Raab and Liam Fox, curiously chaired by Nazi-row MP Aidan Burley. And Eric Pickles is throwing his weight behind the Campaign as special guest speaker at the launch.

TURC spells trouble for trade unions. It signals a serious Tory intent to step up the attack on unions and protections for people at work.

First in the firing line has been the most basic and benign feature of trade union work, the day-to-day support for staff at work by their colleagues who volunteer to act as union reps. The Tory target was ending agreed paid time off for reps to do this work, especially in the public sector. A backbench bill to scrap these legal rights that have been in place for nearly 40 years was defeated in the Commons a fortnight ago when Labour MPs voted in force and most Lib Dem MPs opposed their Coalition colleagues.

But this Commons defeat was only round one. The launch of TURC signals the start of the second round and raises the threat level to working people and to trade unions.

The Tax Payers Alliance (TPA) has made the running against union reps until now and like the TPA, TURC is setting up to do the political dirty work for senior Tories who many suspect are happy to see such extreme arguments against trade unions because they make the Government’s own moves to weaken working rights seem more moderate.

Despite the phantom veto, David Cameron can’t satisfy his right-wing on Europe before the Election so he’ll be happy to throw them political red meat by restricting workplace and union rights.

Of course the onslaught is designed to put unions – and Labour – on the defensive. But it would be a mistake to see this simply as political. There is also a serious industrial intent. With weaker workplace representation and organisation, moves to break up national conditions and careers are made much easier in essential public services like the NHS, Police, education and local government. Regional pay is a red herring. Employer-by-employer contracts and individual terms are the ultimate aim.

There is a strong social case for workplace reps, in the public and private sectors. They help their workmates by giving advice, supporting them in grievance and disciplinary hearings, negotiating with employers and taking on more specialist responsibilities to improve training or health and safety. I’ve described them in the Commons as ‘the unsung heroes of Britain’s long volunteering tradition, and the workplace wing of the Prime Minister’s Big Society’. 

There’s also a strong economic case because they save millions of pounds for employers and the Exchequer by reducing days lost to injury and illness, reducing rates of dismissal and resignation and reducing employment tribunal costs. Government figures suggest savings between £270m and £700m a year in the public sector alone. Not a bad return, even on the TPA’s overestimated £80 million cost of reps’ paid time off.

That’s why employers aren’t leading the call for this attack. They know the benefits that unions can bring to their organisation.  The chief officer of the local NHS Trust providing our mental health services in Rotherham says: “Facility time for staff representatives helps to ensure the timely availability of representation, leading to early resolution of staffing issues and ultimately to better outcomes for employers, the workforce and people benefiting from the service”.

But after the unexpected defeat of their Commons bill I expect TURC to widen the attack. So trade unions have got to raise their own game.

They must do more than resist. They need to promote the contribution they can make to successful companies and more moral capitalism. They must show how they can protect staff from bad employers. They have to demonstrate how unions can help organisations manage through periods of great change or pressure. And they must explain to millions of people who have never met an active trade unionist, never mind been represented by one at work, exactly why they matter in a fair successful modern economy.