Conference on Organized labour
Responses to the Conference Paper
Roger Undy
Direcor, Oxford Institute of Employee Relations, Templeton College and Reader, University of Oxford, UK
19 November 1998
Thank you for the invitation to contribute to the 'Network on Organized Labour in the 21st Century'. This is clearly a very important project. As you note, the trade union movement faces some very significant challenges, most of which show little sign of subsiding over the next four years.
In reading through the paper outlinging the five challenges facing trade unions worldwide, the similarities with many of the difficulties being addressed (or not) by British unions, was very clear. Indeed in outlining our ideas recently, in a bid for funds to study British unions (the bidding process is still proceeding), we addressed many of the same issues, although our focus was on the study of change in trade unions and the associated question of union effectiveness. In responding to your proposed study I would, however, like at this stage to narrow the focus to one particular interest of mine, i.e. unions mergers.
As you will know, union mergers have become a reasonably common occurrence across most of the unionised world. In Britain, as you will see from the attached paper, there have been a number of very large mergers and I have been involved in studying these developments, amongst other union developments, since 1989, when the TUC sponsored the initial study. I also think there are some important lessons to be learnt as regards the effectiveness of mergers in helping solve the problems they were intended to address. In order to bring together academics working on these questions I have initiated (but at this stage no more than that) discussions with two other students of union mergers, i.e. Jeremy Waddington, Warwick University, UK and Professor Chaison, Clark University, Massachusetts, USA and colleagues here at Templeton, regarding the possibility of organizing an international conference on this theme in Oxford at Templeton College.
So I hope you find the above idea of interest and the attached paper useful. I look forward to hearing from you.
Response to IILS invitation to contribute to the Network in Organized Labour in the 21st Century
Introduction
The IILS in requesting for the above contributions asked trade unionists and sympathetic experts to respond to four questions:
1. Which challenges outlined in the IILS paper has been most important in your own country?
2. Are there any other key issues which should be examined?
3. How have unions in your country responded?
4. Are there any particular successes?
This brief paper focuses on questions 2, 3 & 4 in respect of one aspect of union change and strategy, i.e. union mergers, after briefly commenting on question 1.
Question 1. The IILS paper clearly identified the major trends affecting British unions, i.e. the continuous loss of members year on year since 1980 - resulting in a fall in union density from over 50% in 1980 to some 30% in 1997. This coincided with changes in the British labour market as examined in the IILS paper. Over the same period the number of British unions also declined for some 460 in 1980 to 256 in 1995. Much of this reduction in the number of unions was due to trade union mergers - either amalgamations or transfers (absorptions). It is also clear from other academic studies that union mergers have also had a marked effect on union structure, and the number of unions, in countries with as diverse industrial relation systems as the USA, Australia and Germany. It would therefore appear that across many unionised countries there is a tendency to respond to some of the changes in the environment by merging. In some countries, such as Britain, this may be part of a longer term trend - stemming back to at least the 1960s - where as in other countries it is a more recent phenomenon.
Questions 2, 3 and 4. It is therefore suggested that a comparative or inter-country study of union mergers should be added to the list of key issues examined in the IILS paper. Such studies should examine the causes, process and outcomes of mergers. As regards causes both the external factors and the internal dynamics driving mergers should be examined. For instance, are they generally a reactive or a strategic response to a set of external factors, or are they more a product of by internal policy making? Process, will probably differ according to the countries different legal systems - which legal systems are 'best' for producing an 'effective' merger. Outcomes, although much is known about the causes of mergers and the process of mergers there is not as much work on the outcomes of mergers. Hence, questions should be asked as to what it is that makes a merger an effective response to the present difficulties being experienced difficulties by unions? Alternatively, as some argue, do mergers have a negative effect by directing resources away from more urgent matters, such as more productive direct recruitment. These and associated questions should be added to the IILS' list of topics.
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