24.07.2002

Unions stir

The successful, million-strong strike of local government workers on July 17 did not provoke the employers into reopening negotiations. So, two days later, the three unions involved - the TGWU, GMB and Unison - announced a further 24-hour stoppage for August 14. They also warned of possible longer selective actions and another one-day national strike in September. This threatened escalation seems to have prodded the employers into reconsidering talks at the conciliation service, Acas. However, though there is, at the time of writing, nothing definite on the table, the employers are seeking to tie the settlement to a two or three-year deal. It seems the unions have not ruled this out, although Unison has said core elements of the claim must be met - that is, the settlement must address low pay, unequal pay and the decline in earnings relative to the private sector. Anyone who has negotiated at Acas before will know how difficult it is to redress an imbalance that has accrued over years. The type of compromise struck usually favours the employer. However, this dispute is highly significant. Not only because it is an unprecedented national action by three unions, and not only because it is being linked in various commentaries to the winter of discontent 23 years ago, but also because it is a sign that the unions are beginning to shift from the defensive to the offensive. Throughout the 80s and up to the present time we have seen mostly defensive actions - with workers going into disputes with little hope of winning. The current spate of strikes involves workers who do have hope of winning, who are not only defending, but attacking. Where there was gloom, now there is hope. There is not yet an upsurge. Strikes remain at an historically low level despite the recent wave of prominent disputes. But we are beginning to see the turn of the tide. As these struggles progress, it is inevitable that we will come up against the anti-trade union laws. Workers will begin to experience the limitations imposed on their ability to act, while employers can delay, frustrate or outlaw actions. Through living through these struggles - whether they end in victory, defeat or compromise - lessons will be learned. Alan Stevens