The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) are now organising a new round of Britain’s largest employment relations study, WERS (the Workplace Employment Relations Study). Look out for it if it comes to your workplace – It’s your chance to help shape what decision makers use to inform their judgements about the world of work.

WERS examines 3,000 employers in detail, to gauge and explore the current employment relations climate by giving a picture of working life in Britain. The 2011 study will be the sixth since it begain in 1980.

WERS is particularly good in that it gives a rounded picture of workplaces. Interview are held not just with managers, but also employees and union reps. This means it’s an important resource for unions and policy makers. In particular it helps us nail many of the myths about union organisation and unions’ impact on workplaces. And internally, it also allows us to track our strengths and weaknesses.

Government respect it too, and its evidence has helped us succesfully argue for progressive policies on work-life balance, equal opportunities and dispute resolution.

A select group of workplaces will be contacted from October and the study will begin in January 2011. The TUC is a strong supporter of WERS and we’d encourage unions and union reps to fully participate if you are in one of the workplaces chosen.

If you would like to know more about the study visit the website: www.wers2011.org.uk

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Posted on November 25th, 2010 by John Wood filed under: Union reps

We’re very excited about Netroots UK, a conference we’re supporting on 8 January 2011, to bring together grassroots activists from all across the UK’s progressive movement, and build our skills and networks for the battles to come.

There will be dozens of workshops and activities to choose from, including strategy discussion on issues such as how we campaign against spending cuts locally and nationally, as well as practical training sessions like starting your own blog, learning how to shoot online video, or organising local campaign groups via the internet.

Hearing examples of what works well from major campaigns like Hope Not Hate, and tips from key people in media and politics will help us all have greater impact in our activism in 2011.

Netroots UK is supported by the TUC, Compass, Robin Hood Tax, 38 Degrees, leading left wing blogs Liberal Conspiracy and Left Foot Forward and many more – including Netroots Nation, the people behind the US mega-conference for digital activists. With some great speakers from the UK and the States, it should be a really energising event for campaigners of all types, all interests, and all levels of internet expertise.

We’ll be there, and it should be a great chance to think through some of the big strategic questions together, as well as helping to get a union perspective integrated into the UK’s wider online activist scene. We’d love to see you there too!

You can find out more and reserve your place at the event at http://www.netrootsuk.org

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Posted on November 23rd, 2010 by John Wood filed under: Union news, Unions online

Demonstrating just how widespread the anti-austerity campaign is, this week will see protests across Europe led by the trade unions. Unprecedented trade union unity in Portugal will see the two main trade union confederations, UGT and CGTP-IN, mount a general strike on Wednesday 24 November – only the second such occasion since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s. Then on Saturday 27 November, there will be demonstrations in Dublin, called by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and in Rome, called by the General Confederation of Italian Trade Unions (CGIL). In Ireland, there is a tough budget coming up and the trade union movement is calling on the Government to resign and call a General Election. Berlusconi’s Italian Government is also facing a Parliamentary no confidence vote (although less over cuts than over his general stewardship of the country) which could see General Elections there too. The TUC has sent messages of support to all four trade union confederations (not least because the ICTU sent its Vice President to address the Westminster Rally we held just ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review last month.

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Posted on November 21st, 2010 by Owen Tudor filed under: Global solidarity

All too often, my Stronger Union posts are about defending trade unions from attack, and that’s especially been true of Zimbabwe. So instead, here’s news of a fantastic advance that Zimbabwean workers have made over the last decade: the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA), whose congress the TUC helped to fund last month. ZCIEA brings together over a million informal economy workers (many of them street traders, self-employed craftsmen and women, and so on) to campaign and lobby for their rights, for better working conditions, and for economic justice. It may sound a bit like a Chamber of Commerce, but ZCIEA was formed under the umbrella of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, and as in many developing countries, the informal economy represents a massive majority of employment, so unions have to organise in that sector. Just to put it in perspective, ZCIEA’s paying membership constitutes 8% of the total population of Zimbabwe (an organisation that size in the UK would have 5 million members!), and there are up to a million more involved in some way but without paying (a regular issue, for obvious reasons, in informal economy associations). It is the largest, most geographically comprehensive organisation in the country. TUC adviser Annie Watson, who helped found ZCIEA and is often treated by them at least as their midwife if not more, was at the congress last month and interviewed many of the activists for the TUC website. ZCIEA’s story is an inspiring one, and it totally refutes the suggestion that trade unionism is outdated, exhausted or past its sell by date. As someone said: “yes, we can!”

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Posted on November 20th, 2010 by Owen Tudor filed under: Global solidarity

 As part of the ‘Taking Part’ research project run by Goldsmiths College, the TUC commissioned a report into the extent of current and the potential for future community engagement by British trades unions.  The report ‘From Swords of Justice to Civic Pillars” was released In August but to mark the formal launch the TUC is hosting a round table to discuss future community engagement by British trades unions.

This event will take place at the TUC, Congress House, London on December 16th at 2pm.

The round table will be of interest to union officers, organisers, academics and representatives of organisations that may share common cause with trades unions.

 To reserve a place at this event, please call or email Joanne Adams on 020 7467 1361 or jadams@tuc.org.uk.

 Places are extremely limited so a prompt response is advised.

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Posted on November 15th, 2010 by Carl Roper filed under: Union campaigns, Union organising, Unions in the community

A short film of the demo that took place on the 10.11.10 against education cuts. This film was made by Gary Williams, Unison youth officer, and one of our students on the TUC’s film  training  course ‘Lights, camera, action’.

demo 10.11.10

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Posted on November 15th, 2010 by Anna filed under: Union news

The bus workers’ union in Teheran is one of the few independent unions in Iran, and it faces continual harassment by the authorities. Union leaders Mansour Osanloo, Ebrahim Madadi and Reza Shahabi remain in jail (despite hopes recently that Reza would be freed). And in the last fortnight, there have been further arrests. It isn’t clear why the Iranian government is acting now (maybe the possible release of Reza raised the issue up their agenda, or it may be a pre-emptive strike to head off protests about reductions in food subsidies), but whatever the reason it demonstrates that the Iranian regime has no way given up persecuting workers’ representatives. The TUC will be consulting with trade unionists globally – including the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) to which the bus workers’ union is affiliated - over how to respond.

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Posted on November 13th, 2010 by Owen Tudor filed under: Global solidarity