New C.T.U. expects 480,000 members in meca-union

Press, 17 October 1987, Page 20

New C.T.U. expects 480,000 members in meca-union

By

PETER LUKE,

A burly right forearm, clutching a hammer, symbolises the Federation of Labour, which celebrated its 50th birthday this year, but at its annual conference in May the F.O.L. took steps that wil ensure it does not have a 51st birthday? •. -J By approving the concept of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (C.T.U.), the majority of F.O.L. affiliates signalled their realisation that the forearm and the hammer approach, with its manual, masculine associations, is becoming redundant. On Tuesday the C.T.U. will formally come into existence. The new “union of unions” will unite, for the first time, the bulk of private and State sector unions. . : Not all unions agree that this mega-union, with its, massive power base of 480,000 workers, is desirable or workable, and a major task of the C.T.U. will be to convince the doubters. After this inaugural C.T.U. conference the F.O.L. and the Combined State Unions group will become part Of the C.T.U. While the C.S.U. group will be a standing committee within the C.T.U;, the F.O.L. will be wound up after <a final conference in December to dispose of its assets.

The declaration of the establishment of the C.T.U. will make history, but its development has itself been a result of historical processes within the New Zealand work force and in society generally. The secretary of the C.S.U., Mr Colin Clark, has identified one. important historic development — the growing strength and importance of white-collar unionism.

Parliamentary Reporter

Such workers made up only about one sixth of the work force around the turn of the century, but now account for'more than two thirds of all workers. •, The F.O.L. has not reflected this shift, although ironically several of its affiliates have opposed the C.T.U., out of fear that its traditional manual nature would be watered down. Mr Clark has little time for this view. “Those who are taking a traditionalist approach to trade unionism, and who do not see white collar workers fitting into that, are pot taking enough notice of the changes in our society and in the make-up of our work force.” While the C.T.U. will start life without most of the maritime unions, which were once a driving force of. New Zealand trade unionism, it has picked up the 19,000-strong Bank Officer’s Union. • . This union has traditionally been outside the main-stream of trade unionism, having never belonged to a central organisation such as the F.O.L. Yet the Bank Officer’s Union is now a strong supporter of the C.T.U. concept, and its secretary, Ms Angela Foulkes, has spoken of a decline of elitist attitudes among members. The affiliation of the union will be a significant move, Mr Clark believes, because of the great development of the finance sector in recent years. With 70,000 members the Public Service Association has been a relatively recent convert to the mega-union idea. Since the setting up of the present F.O.L. in 1937, the P.S.A. has flirted with, but never consumated, affiliation to a private sector organisa-

tion. Mr Clark says there is now very strong support within the P.S.A. for the.GT.U. after what he describes as the most thorough debate in his organisation’s history. He acknowledges,, however, there w r as initially an element of opposition, with some members misconstruing the C.T.U. proposal as meaning affiliation to the F.O.L. Both Mr Clark and the secretary of the F.0.L., Mr Douglas, have been at pains to stress that the C.T.U. will be a totally new organisation, not an expanded F.O.L. It has been a long time coming. The concept was approved in 1982 by the P.S.A. at its annual conference, and by the F.O.L. executive. The move to combine private and State sector unions was seen as an obvious extension to the close co-opera-tion and joint F.0.L.-C.S.U. campaigns against the National Government’s economic policies., The 1984 election provided a

temporary hold-up, but finally In May this year, the F.O.L. annual conference authorised its national executive to convene next week’s inaugural C.T.U. conference. i ’; ■

The mega-union should be operational by April 1 next year, although organisers concede that the appointment of regional coordinators might take until 1989. Put simply, the rationale for the C.T.U. is that it will give trade unions more clout. Mr Douglas talks of widening the resource base and providing better services, pointing out the trade union movement’s greatest resource is people.

“We would never out-match the Business Roundtable or the Employers’ Federation for financial or technical resources.”

The C.T.U. is budgeting for 480,000 members, and a structure which would reach down to the district level as well as providing greater technical resources than are available at present. •/ •- i .A Six district councils will be established, each with its own coordinator. The council will include representatives of iocal trades councils and will hold biennial conferences. The northern South Island district, based in Christchurch, will stretch as far as Timaru. . J? Funding this network will require about one-third of the capitation fee ($4 per member) that each affiliate will pay. But for the F.O.L. to set up a similar organisation, some 63 per cent of its capitation fees would be needed. ■ -j With 480,000 members, the; C.T.U. is considerably larger than the F.O.L.- (374,000 members), but still short of 600,000 members envisaged originally. Aside from the maritime unions • and the National Union of Railwaymen, others appear to be adopting a "wait and see” approach. For the Electrical Workers' Union, this stance is understandable. Under the secretaryship of Mr Tony Neary, the union twice, walked out of the F.O.L. : Mr Douglas believes .that the figure of 480,000 is'a minimum that’ once the ' C.T.U., is, established, the misgivings of some unions will disappear. Although reluctant to comment on these unions, he does raise a philosophical point. “I just think it is a contradiction to the principle of trade unionism for people to say that we agree with everyone being in the union in one industry, or one occupational group, and then try to justify the fact there should not be a union of unions.”

Against the criticism that the C.T.U. will not concentrate on bread-and-butter • economic issues, Mr Douglas suggests that if people want to influence policy priorities they should be part of

the C.T.U. Aside from "its district structure, a major innovation in'the C.T.U. is its system of six electoral colleges, whlchwill elect executive members. > . Each college consists of unions which operate in a similar Indus- - try or area. Group one,-? for example, will include clerical, banking, insurance, local body, legal, advertising, accounting, sales representatives, actors,. musicians, projectionists, theatrical workers, stage hands and writers. ■ Journalists were , originally in this group, but were later placed in group two with photo-process, photo-engravingg and printing workers. The colleges will allow a more co-ordinated industry-wide SP^proach between unions, an almost inevitable direction in industrial relations. The colleges also appear, to bp arranged to allow for the amalgamations,; which must follow, the Labour , Relations Act requirement of 1000 minimum membership for a trade'union. - The C.T;U.’s proponents agree that a new structure is long overdue to represent workers’ interests. In the private sector the more organised and aggressive employer approach to the 198687 wage round showed tile peed for' a union organisation with greater resources. ; \ This year, the LabouX Relations Act was a clear directive from, the Government that \the old mentalities, and the institutions which supported them, were inappropriate. \A The same message has been spelt out in the State ; sector, where unions have been 1 confronted with corporatisation and ' ,a' Government determined to. Change their conditions of. employment .’. *,> * * In the short-term, this first C.T.U. conference is in middle; of a wage round whldn. got a. flying start with the, three-' day metal trades settlement, but has subsequently stalled on the drivers’, talks. J 4 " ’ It will be two months sjneo. Labour was returned, withelegr HOO Labour’s; annual conference! z.d Tri-this’context the C.T.U.> conference will be, in the? words of Mr Douglas, a working conference; with no-One “popping out ’ of cakes” to celebrate the historic Indeed the GTjU.’s inaugural president will need to ensure that doubters abdut the concept-(and the capitation fee) are convinced. 1 t ; If, as is likely, Mr Douglas emerges as president — with a salary of $52,000 — it would be ironic that the union, organisation for the future is headed by a man who is associated by many with the hamtoer and forearm Of an older unionism. ■ ’ .