' 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.