Len McCluskey's election as leader of Unite, the UK's largest trade union, is significant. Unite has for some time, depending on who you listen to, been crippled with internal wrangling as a result of having two chiefs - Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, who reportedly don't see eye to eye.

Both backed different candidates in the recent leadership election; Simpson supporting Les Bayliss and Woodley supporting Len McCluskey. Since the Amicus and TGWU merger to create Unite started, many employers have been frustrated at the internal politics within the union and the impact on their ability to conduct meaningful day to day business.

So, does McCluskey’s election mean that we may see a more disciplined, co-ordinated Unite begin to emerge? I fear not. Unite, well, 7% of its membership, has elected a leader that believes in a return to traditional union values, who wants to fight the Government at every turn and who blames the banks for the meltdown – banks who by the way, are full of Unite members. McCluskey was seen on national TV heckling Ed Milliband’s speech to the Labour Party with cries of "Rubbish" when the new leader talked about the importance of not bowing down to industrial action.

One of the biggest issues facing unions in the UK, Unite included, is the decline in membership. Some 25% of the UK work force is a union member, a number that is steadily reducing year on year, and there is little sign of it stopping. Unions have to find a way of attracting younger workers into membership – the current turmoil in the job market should provide a fantastic opportunity to do that. But they can’t all the time these 50+ age, white male union leaders appear on the TV telling us all that there is a class war to be fought and capitalism is the route of evil. Most 25-40 year olds don’t engage with that language or that argument.

One union that does hold a different approach and attitude is Usdaw, which represents the UK’s shop and retail workers. It takes the view that it would rather see employers be successful and will work with them to that end. It doesn’t mean that it is a push over for unscrupulous employers, but that it would rather engage meaningfully with a company’s management to safeguard and create jobs. This builds an environment where the union is seen to be adding value to the direction of the business. Usdaw has grown its membership by 5% in the last year, quite an achievement given the high turnover of workers in retail.

Many employers I work with where Unite is recognised have been dreading the news that McCluskey has been elected. They are worried that the union will become very difficult to deal with and the union’s officers will be told to be far more traditional in their dealings with managers. I think these scenarios are highly likely and Unite will demand more management time and resources. That will be a huge shame as if the union’s extensive resources were focused on growing membership by engaging with younger workers, the positive impact for the trade union movement will be huge.

There is no question that the next few years will be turbulent in industrial relations terms. There is a lack of employee relations skills and expertise in the UK yet increasing demand for those skills. The way shared services and the Dave Ulrich model has compartmentalised HR jobs so the 'business partner' has little or no responsibility for disciplines such as employee relations is a travesty. The CIPD, the professional body responsible for developing human resources talent, has sadly not addressed this issue at all. This has left the way clear for canny union people to exploit a massive gap in the skills and competence of many HR professionals in the UK.

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/1042467/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert

comments leading Industrial Relations expert, Andy Cook, Chief Executive of Employee Relations Experts, Marshall-James

Cook, speaking on the first day of the TUC conference in Manchester, goes on to say “unions in the UK are facing a very real issue – how to recruit workers from the private sector into union membership. With overall membership now standing at 25% of the UK workforce and an all time low of just 16% in the private sector and steady year on year decline; Trades Unions must find a way to become attractive to younger members of the workforce in the Private Sector, otherwise they face further marginalisation”.

“In my view, the language of some union leaders who talk about the evil of capitalism, the class struggle and a call for a national strike turns most workers off. Most employees don’t identify with these terms, let alone believe in them. The public face of unions is represented by some very extreme views from high profile union leaders and if non-members are seeing those people as representative of the union movement, it is not surprising that unions hold little appeal for a majority of the workforce.”

The election for the General Secretary of UNITE, the UK’s largest union, with around 1.4 million members, is crucial. Many employers are worried about the direction the union will get taken in if the election is won by one of the traditional, left wing candidates, of which ex-Liverpool docker; Len McCluskey is the favourite to win. Mccluskey has publicly declared that his policy will be to say “no cuts to jobs; no pay freezes; no cuts to pensions and no cuts to services”. For the average Private Sector employer that works with UNITE, those words make employers and employees very nervous. Maybe this and the high profile disputes at BA and BAA is the reason for the decline in Unite membership by 5.3% in the last year.

If you contrast that against a union such as USDAW, who represent nearly 400,000 workers in the retail section and who are committed to working with employers far more pragmatically for the benefit of their members and also the success of the business, their membership has increased by 4.3% over the same period. It shows this pragmatic approach has far more appeal to potential members.

Unions have a very important role to play and there are some excellent union people who do talk the language of the average worker. These people need to come to the fore. That is the debate the TUC should be engaged in, not a debate about how to bring down capitalism through a national strike”.

Bloomberg TV interview Andy Cook about the potential impact of airport closures on BAA.

Watch the full interview here.

"It might be indicative of ballot fatigue,” Andy Cook, CEO of Marshall-James, which advises companies on employee relations, said in a telephone interview. “If that turnout is indicative of what an industrial action ballot would look like and therefore the support for industrial action, that will give British Airways a shot in the arm."

As flight attendants begin voting today on a pay offer that ignores union grievances over the removal of travel perks, the firing of strikers and the use of volunteer staff, the appetite for stoppages is probably diminishing”, said Andy Cook, CEO of Marshall-James, which advises companies on employee relations.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-06/british-airways-ceo-wages-war-of-attrition-as-pay-vote-starts.html

Andy Cook, CEO of employee relations advisory firm, Marshall-James Global Solutions has been commenting widely on the BA vs. UNITE story with Bloomberg, BBC News, ITN and various other broadcasting stations. If you would like to speak with Andy regarding the industrial relations angle please call Parm Evans on 07501 462045.

London, 25th March 2010 - As the second wave of Industrial Action planned by the Unite members of BA Cabin Crew is due to start on Saturday 27th March for four days, a resolution still seems a long way off. 

Andy Cook, Chief Executive of Marshall-James, the specialist employee relations firm comments: "At some point, this dispute will have to be solved. However, it is looking difficult to see where the common ground is going to come from, particularly given the personalisation by the Union against BA Management. Both sides are claiming a victory in terms of the numbers who have stayed away or turned up for work and the number or services that have run". 

"We will never really know the true picture but one thing is for sure, at the heart of this are passengers who cannot take or complete their journeys and a large group of airport and BA employees who, whilst not on strike, will be directly affected by what is happening. BA claim they have no choice but to reduce costs and those reductions can only come from its payroll. The acute need to cut costs has now become critical for the airline's long term viability”.

“The pension fund deficit, volatile fuel costs, a reduction in premium passengers and competitor's ability to operate more cost effectively all add to a bleak financial picture. If you put into that mix a group of employees who are paid way in excess of equivalents on rival carriers and who are protected by restrictive practices making flexibility even more expensive, then it is easy to understand the dilemma".

"An important factor in all of this is that BA cannot afford to take their foot of the gas. Previous management regimes have not tackled this issue as times had been good and the money was coming in, on top of which they realised the extent of the union's muscle, which is what we are now seeing.

“Therefore, it was easier not to confront the cabin crew in those good times. That is not the case anymore and the current management has to deal with the crisis and if they do not get what they need from this dispute, then they know they will be back here in 12, 24 or 36 months time. I always advise clients that the best time to make change is when things are going well".

“The imminent budget and cap on public spending, particularly in the area of public sector pay, will cause further industrial unrest. The PCS union is striking over changes to civil servants redundancy payments which are generous in comparison to a majority of private sector payments. The government wants to reduce payments to civil servants on redundancy so it is not so expensive to make headcount reductions. For most of us, the proposed reduced payments will still seem generous, but the union and its members want to protect the current levels. Network Rail is facing similar difficulties”.