' I've seen the very good, the very bad, and the very ugly faces of
British industrial relations. All this has reinforced my determination
to put the TUC in the centre of the battle to turn the tide of ideas in
favour of the vulnerable '
Mr John Monks
THE TUC's attempts to cut away vast areas of bureaucracy and make it a
leaner, campaigning organisation is running into hostility from the
smaller unions.
The general secretary, Mr John Monks, wants to remove the ponderous
and costly committee structure and replace it with task forces which
will investigate important issues within a set timetable.
The main general council will meet less often and more power will be
invested in a smaller executive committee.
Unfortunately the committee structure is where many of the smaller
unions have their say at the TUC, and they are reluctant to lose it.
The Society of Radiographers, for example, with 13,000 members, joined
the TUC only three years ago after a campaign to convince the initially
suspicious membership that it had much to gain from joining the broader
trade union movement -- not forgetting the fees to the TUC of more than
#10,000 a year.
Now the health committee, of which the society was a member, has been
suspended and there is as yet no clear picture of where the society,
like many other smaller unions, will find its voice.
Mr Warren Town, acting general secretary of the radiographers' union,
said yesterday that the changes were being rushed through without proper
consultation.
''We do not believe that the general council has allowed the smaller
unions the opportunity to provide constructive comment,'' he added. He
accepted that the committee system could be improved, but sweeping it
aside was not the answer.
Without proper consultation, unions such as the Society of
Radiographers might in future question what they gained from TUC
membership.
Despite the criticism, Mr Monks said the objective was to create a new
TUC which was in tune with the ''times we live in''.
He told delegates: ''I've seen the very good, the very bad, and the
very ugly faces of British industrial relations. All this has reinforced
my determination to put the TUC in the centre of the battle to turn the
tide of ideas in favour of the vulnerable, in favour of the exploited,
and in favour of people who work, or want to work.
''I think we can say that the tide had begun to turn, although the
battle continues.''
Union officials believe that the TUC now is receiving more favourable
media coverage than in the past when it was dismissed as a decrepit
cart-horse.
However, it still has far to go before it becomes a cantering
thoroughbred. Although the membership slide has halted at 7.3 million,
it is still far short of its peak of 13 million.
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