Strikes called at Fujitsu Manchester

Unite has now issued the call for industrial action - action short of strike and the first three strike days, as part of our dispute over pay, pensions and job security. The first action starts on Monday, with the first strike on Tuesday 1st November.

More details are here. You can also follow and support our campaign via Facebook and Twitter.

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UNITE GPM&IT National Industrial Sector Committee, January 2016

The committee, which covers the Graphical, Paper, Media & IT industries, met on Thursday and Friday. This is a summary of some key points. I’ve not included most of the industrial detail in my report because it isn’t appropriate to post publicly. For jargon, see here.

NISC members were very unhappy that there was still no representation from Wales. The original Welsh RISC meeting had been inquorate because the Welsh Regional Secretary had decided that two delegates were not allowed to be elected to the RISC from the same company even if this meant leaving places vacant, despite this being contrary to the Executive Council (EC) guidelines. The Wales Region had attempted to reconvene the conference, but this time that wasn’t quorate so no elections were possible. The situation is to be discussed at the Wales Regional Committee in the next few weeks. NISC members were keen for this to be resolved without further delay, seeing it as unacceptable for the members in a country to be unrepresented. The issue will be raised at the next EC meeting.

Funding for trade union education via the Skills Funding Agency, including reps training, faces a massive reduction in September 2016 as part of the government’s wider assault on Further Education. A report on how UNITE will respond to this will be discussed at the next Executive Council meeting.

Delegates were disappointed that Sharon Graham from the organising department was again unable to attend, after having been unable to attend conference for our sector in November, though she had led great sessions at the plenary and for many other sectors. At the GPM&IT conference delegates had agreed motions on organising, one of which set tasks for our Organising Strategy Subcommittee. This held an initial meeting on the Thursday evening and agreed some initial actions. A report will be circulated to all RISCs. The subcommittee plans to arrange its second meeting around Sharon’s availability to ensure that our sector’s plans complement what the organising department is doing rather than conflicting or duplicating it.

Under the EC report there was a wide ranging discussion including support for Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum; how to deal with bad Labour MPs; support for the student nurses and junior doctors’ disputes; Cameron’s racist nonsense about Muslims, learning English and terrorism; and our international work.

Raffiq Moosa was elected as our delegate to the Labour Party conference.

Bud Hudspith was unable to attend in person but provided a detailed written Health & Safety report which will be circulated electronically. In discussion it was clarified that though it is not a legal requirement for the HSE to contact union safety reps when they visit a workplace, it is their policy to do so.

The discussion on the report from the National Officer, Ian Tonks, included a lot of information about specific companies and workplaces which I have not included in this report for confidentiality reasons. An interesting point raised was how we turn increases to the National Minimum Wage (as it becomes Cameron’s National Living Wage) and the actual Living Wage, into wider rises to maintain differentials. Officers dealing with the GPM&IT sector will be meeting on 1-2 February. There was an interesting discussion about the benefits and dangers of national agreements and how they combined with uneven organisation and local bargaining. Sharing information between reps in competitor companies is a vital step.

On the Thursday evening NISC members attended an event to mark the 30^th anniversary of the bitter News International Wapping dispute with Rupert Murdoch, backed by Thatcher, the police and the leadership of the EETPU. This included a showing of the film Banging Out about Fleet Street and the Wapping dispute. The event had been funded by six branches in the sector.

Louisa Bull, one of the officers covering GPM&IT in London & Eastern, gave a wide ranging report which included new recognition agreements at Ambitions Personnel Limited and Pearson Education Limited. The agreement with Ambitions is particularly significant because it is an employment agency. With the support of the Printing Charity there is now a facility in England and Wales for UNITE officers to refer individual redundant members in the GPM&IT sector to Renovo who can provide outplacement services (CV writing, interview skills etc). Officers will also be able to access support from Renovo for larger redundancies where the employer is unable to fund outplacement support itself. The equivalent arrangement for Scotland is via Pace. Louisa will be speaking on equality and diversity at the London Book Fayre. A new toolkit for GPM&IT reps is finished and is currently being printed. It will also be available to reps and branch officers in the sector via on the sector pages on the Unite web site.

Rick Graham from the research department reported on his work. This included a survey of GPM&IT reps on the use of agency labour which he will be analysing shortly.

Morag Livingstone updated the NISC on a documentary she is making about the Grangemouth, Post Office (2007-9) and Wapping disputes. It is called “Belonging: the truth behind the headlines” and a short clip is available on the film’s web site. It is a feature length (90 minute) documentary which a number of union branches and regions have already contributed to funding. If a further £45K can be raised it will be possible to make it available free on YouTube for a period as part of its promotion. Further financial contributions are needed and Morag is happy to travel to speak at meetings.

I gave a short report from the IT & Comms Advisory Committee which had met on Wednesday. It had a first look at a survey of reps gathering information about workplaces, employers and issues. More work is required to go through it in detail to produce specific proposals for organising targets and opportunities to re-use materials when campaigning on issues affecting many employers. Discussion also included the more systematic recruitment of in-house or outsourced IT workers within unionised GPM workplaces, as a pilot that could be extended into other sectors.

The NISC was entitled to submit one motion to Policy Conference. I proposed the following motion:

Trident Replacement This conference welcomes the desire by Jeremy Corbyn not to spend replace the Trident nuclear weapons of mass destruction system, and to spend the money on more socially useful priorities. Conference welcomes Jeremy Corbyn’s commitment to setting up a Defence Diversification Agency (DDA) to ensure those whose jobs and communities currently rely on Trident have good, well paid jobs in future. We welcome the commitment of the Aerospace and Shipbuilding sector to engage with the DDA.The question of the UK’s nuclear weapons is not primarily about employment. It is first of all a moral issue, then a strategic one concerning the UK’s place in the world and the international environment we wish to see, then one about spending priorities. Such weapons would, if used, constitute a mortal threat to humanity’s survival; they are massively expensive; senior military figures have described them as ‘militarily useless’ and said that they should be scrapped; and our possession of them encourages other countries to seek a similar arsenal. Conference does not accept the argument that the only alternative to the priorities of right wing governments is unemployment for our members. The threat of job losses has been used to oppose everything from health and safety, decent wages and conditions, sanctions against apartheid South Africa, ending the slave trade, or bans on the sale of weapons or torture equipment to brutal dictatorships. The election of Jeremy Corbyn presents an opportunity to fight for different priorities and a better society. As a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the UK should give a lead in discharging its obligations by not replacing Trident. Crispin Blunt, the chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee has estimated the cost of Trident replacement at £167 billion, based on official figures. Money saved by ending the UK’s nuclear arsenal could generate far more jobs and be used for decommissioning, to sustain the process of defence diversification, vital to our manufacturing future, as well as other socially-useful forms of public spending. Conference resolves: 1.            That UNITE will support and participate in the Defence Diversification Agency 2.            To campaign to ensure there are good, socially useful, jobs for our members who might be affected by not replacing Trident 3.            To continue to support all members, including those currently working in Trident-related jobs, and to fight for continuity of employment 4.            To campaign against Trident replacement and for an end to UK weapons of mass destruction 5.            To support the work of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Another motion won the vote for submission instead:

Workers Uniting Conference recognises that our global union with the United Steel Workers, Workers Uniting, has been in existence since 2008. In that time the benefits of two similar Unions working in similar industries and for global corporations, have proved to be extremely beneficial, notably in papermaking and packaging, steel, oil and chemicals, transport, glass and other important sectors. This Conference believes that Unite members should be aware of the work of Workers Uniting and the support given to members of both Unite and the USW by the partner Unions. Therefore Conference calls upon the Executive Council to include news items and reports on Workers Uniting on both the Unite website, Unitelive and in the Unite printed magazine in order that the global solidarity work carried out can be understood by members.

The next NISC meeting will consider the motions agreed at the sector conference and how to progress them.

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Union wage premium rises to 16.4%, private sector membership up

The government has just published the stats on trade union membership for 2013.

The union "wage premium" (the percentage difference in average gross hourly earnings of union members compared with non-members) rose to 16.4% for all employees, with increases in both public sector (to 19.8%) and private sector (to 7%).  Scandalously, this is concealed under the headline "The trade union wage premium decreased in both the private and public sectors"!

The premium is a whopping £1.70 an hour.  To put that in perspective, you could pay the highest rate of UNITE subs for an entire month from the extra pay you earn in 7.8 hours.

Interestingly the wage premiums are even higher for women (30%) and young workers (38% for 16-24 year olds).

Private sector union membership rose for the third year running, up in 2013 by 61,000 to 2.6 million.  This still equates to a "union density" of 14.4% of private sector employees - the growth in membership has kept pace with growing employment.

Public sector union membership fell from 3.9m to 3.8m, and density fell from 56.3% to 55.4%.

The sectors showing the biggest growth in membership were "transport and storage", "financial and insurance activities" and "arts, entertainment and recreation".  Both "construction" and "wholesale and retail trade" saw significant declines.

The reversal of fortunes between the public and private sectors appears elsewhere in the data.  The percentage of employees in workplaces where there is some union presence has risen to 28.7% in the private sector but fallen to 85.4% in the public sector.

The picture on collective bargaining is more consistently positive.  The percentage of employees whose pay and conditions are negotiated through a union rose in the private sector to 16.6% and rose in the public sector to 63.8%.

In the Information and Communication industries, membership levels have fluctuated considerably over recent years, standing at 112,000 which is lower than last year but well above the low point of 2010-11.

Union density in the industry is 11.2%.  24.3% of employees are in workplaces with a union presence, and 13.6% negotiate their pay through a union.

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Report from GPM&IT National Industrial Sector Conference, November 2013

The UNITE national sector conferences were spread across a week, with several sectors meeting each day.  Each morning started with a plenary session with Len McCluskey, who gave a speech and answered questions.

Our plenary, like those on other days, was dominated by the disgraceful attacks on members at the Grangemouth petrochemical plant and refinery, on Stevie Deans, and on UNITE, which have been coming from the Labour right, from Ineos and its billionaire owner Ratcliffe, from the Tories and their press.

The deal accepted by UNITE at Grangemouth included a three year no-strike agreement and pay freeze, worse pensions and cuts in union facilities.  This had been accepted under the threat of closure and the loss of many jobs.  While standing united in defence of our union and Stevie Deans, it is vital we learn lessons from this serious setback.  We cannot afford employers to imagine that such blackmail will work again.  Nor can we afford our own members to conclude that there is no alternative to making massive concessions without even a fight.  The debate about what these lessons were continued through the conferences and in the bars, and is still ongoing.

The conference for the Graphical, Paper, Media & IT sector was the first meeting since the old GPM and IT & Comms sectors came together.  There was a degree of suspicion, hostility and misconceptions from a small minority of delegates, but most seemed keen to make the sector work and to learn about the issues across all the industries.  This was helped by two hefty reports - one from the National Officers, the other on Collective Bargaining.  These reports, along with a copy of Len's speech, can be found here if you log on to the UNITE web site.

The 2012 Labour Force Survey reports that 12% of UK employees in the Information and Communication industries are union members, but I assume this includes companies such as BT and Royal Mail, giving slightly too rosy a picture.  Overall the GPM sector had 11% union density.

The conference elected delegates to TUC Congress:

• 2014: Ged D, with Tony M as substitute
• 2015: Pauline B, with Ged D as substitute

All the conferences meeting that day jiontly elected three members of the Standing Orders Committee:

• Bill D, Metals, East Midlands
• Ann M, Automotive, North West
• Paul R, GPM&IT, Scotland

The following motions were agreed:

1. WORKERS UNITING – PAPER AND PACKAGING SECTOR
This Conference welcomes the continuing development of our strategic relationship with the USW in the USA and Canada’s papermaking and packaging sector.

The exchange of FOCs, MOCs and Union Reps in our countries has developed a greater understanding of the globalisation of the papermaking and packaging industry and the development of good working relationships between lay reps within the sectors.

Conference believes that we must now deepen the relationship by extending the USW’s involvement, where appropriate, in EWCs in the paper and packaging sector and that we look to develop joint negotiations with companies where both of our Unions have membership.

2. NEWS INTERNATIONAL & LEVESON ENQUIRY
This Conference welcomes the Leveson Enquiry and subsequent police enquiries uncover alleged untold wrong doings and illegal behaviour by Executives of News International, including the alleged corruption of public officials and the police, leading to the closure of the News of the World and the arrest of senior Executives of News International.

This Conference congratulates Tom Watson MP and other Labour MPs who refused to be bullied and cowed by News International and were prepared to expose the disgraceful acts of NI executives and senior journalists.

This Conference believes that the lack of Union involvement in the News International empire by Unite and the NUJ contributed to the alleged wrong doing and illegal activities and the corrupt power wielded by Rupert Murdoch and his family over political and public life in this country.

3. AUSTERITY, DIVIDE & RULE
This conference notes that the government’s austerity, cuts and deregulation policies are affecting members in our sector by:

1. deflating the economy
2. cutting the public services we and our families and communities rely on
3. cutting in-work benefits and tax credits
4. putting downward pressure on pay and conditions by attacking them in the public sector
5. putting downward pressure on pay and conditions by increasing competition for jobs by cutting benefits, driving sick and disabled people into the job market, and encouraging the expansion of low-paid and unpaid work
6. cutting legal protection for members on everything from health & safety to redundancy consultation
7. feeding racism by scapegoating migrants and Muslims, boosting organisations such as UKIP, the BNP or EDL

This conference believes that strong and effective union organisation cannot be built without tackling political questions such as these within the workplace. This conference rejects attempts to divide members in our sector from colleagues in the public sector, from those reliant on state benefits, or from migrants or Muslims. This conference believes that unity is strength and an injury to one is an injury to all.

This conference resolves:

1. Our sector will work with other sectors, unions and community groups to deliver a strong and united response to the government’s attacks on working people
2. The NISC, working with appropriate officers and staff, will periodically produce template leaflets on such issues for reps to adapt and combine with workplace-specific material
3. Activists in our sector are encouraged to invite speakers from public service sectors, community branches and anti-fascist groups to address workplace and branch meetings.

4. ORGANISING IN THE IT & COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRIES
This Conference believes:

1. Organisations in the public and private sector are now heavily reliant on IT & Communications in order to function
2. Outsourcing and “cloud” services are concentrating a high proportion of IT & Communications services in a relatively small number of large companies
3. Commoditisation of IT & Communications products and services is leading to commoditisation of jobs and skills and accelerating downward pressure on pay and conditions
4. Hundreds of thousands of workers in IT & Communications would benefit from UNITE organisation
5. Strong UNITE organisation in IT & Communications would strengthen UNITE’s leverage and bargaining power across every sector.

5. CAMPAIGN TO RECRUIT ICT WORKERS AND RAISE UNITE PROFILE
This National Industrial Sector Conference notes that Technology continues to impact traditional industries both developing new opportunities for employment whilst reducing manning levels significantly in older processes.

The overwhelming majority of young people entering the UK labour market today take ICT skills for granted in the same way basic skills of reading and writing were viewed by previous generations.

The union movement has been slow to adapt to this growing workforce and even today in industries well organised in production and distribution areas is poorly organised in ICT sections. Yet the ICT Industry is future proofed has a diverse workforce and controls in many respects the UK economy.

Often these critical workers are not employed by the main company anymore and so are excluded from the major campaigns of the union.

Because of the fragmentation of ICT workers across the membership it is not possible to commence a major campaign at either RISC or Regional Committee level. To really organise these workers there needs to be a campaign supported by the National Union across the sector as a whole.

ICT workers occupy powerful positions in the processes operating within industry, services and the public sector. Their ability to influence employer’s decisions is significant whereas nowadays due to a combination of alternative supply and fragmented workforces many groups struggle to produce such an impact.

This Conference requests the Executive Council to establish an initiative to raise the profile of UNITE amongst ICT workers and the ICT Industry in general. Such a campaign to be launched at the start of 2014 will not only assist organise ICT workers in ICT companies but also ICT workers in existing employers with union agreements.

E1. OPPOSING CHANGES TO THE TUPE REGULATIONS
Conference notes that the Government has published its response to the latest public consultation on reviewing TUPE on 5 September 2103 under the heading of Making the labour market more flexible, efficient and fair

The Government has concluded that there is scope to amend the Regulations by removing provisions which go further than the Acquired Rights Directive requires and generally improve how the Regulations operate.

Due to the structure of ICT industry through the winning and losing of accounts ICT workers are vulnerable to being transferred disproportionately compared to other employees. This means that these proposed changes will impact adversely on IT workers who often work in the contracted out sector so need the protection of TUPE.

This Conference opposes the attack upon collective bargaining rights of UK trade unionists by placing limits upon the protection of collective agreements post a TUPE transfer. This is a significant development that introduces time limits on voluntary agreements governing workers’ terms and conditions of employment for the first time in the UK.

According to Government figures there are between 26500 and 48000 TUPE transfer every year with the number of workers affected ranging between 1.42 million and 2.11 million with the majority of these workers being transferred yearly to other employers being potential members.

Every ICT worker who has transferred in the past now works under a contract between the client and their employer that will come up for renewal or a new service provider will take over the contract. The workers’ terms and conditions of employment will also then be vulnerable to employer attempts to reduce them. The race to the bottom is accelerated by these changes.

Unite must take the lead opposing this attack upon terms and conditions of employment and agreements that is a campaigning issue that affects millions – those already transferred, those being transferred and those that fear outsourcing of their jobs.

The Coalition’s programme of relentless attacks upon the limited defences in favour of workers’ rights includes the withdrawal of many of these workers from TUPE protection by virtue of removing service provision changes.

Conference calls upon the Unite Executive Council to launch a campaign within three months to alert UK workers to the risk to their futures that these changes represent to both private and public sector workers, skilled and unskilled, manufacturing and services.

6. NARROWING THE SKILLS GAP
UK industry is suffering from the lack of investment in training especially the lack of opportunities available to young people entering traditional industries through training programmes especially apprenticeships.

This Conference believes this puts the UK at a disadvantage in comparison to other countries that invest in skills for the future of their industries. Evidence has shown that the age profile in our sector is increasing whilst the number of apprentices entering the industry is decreasing.

This conference calls upon the National Industrial Sector Committee to lobby and meet with all stake holders in our industry to analyse, discuss and plan a strategy which will ensure the industry invests in skills within the sector and to ensure training/apprenticeships are on the bargaining agenda. A written report on the progress of this should be given to the next National Industrial sector conference in 2015.

• In addition we call on the Executive Council to campaign in support of the ‘forgotten generation’ and to lobby for: Government to increase investment in industry based skills and training.
• To ensure that bona-fide Apprentice Programmes are available for young people.

7. SECTOR SURVEY
In light of the demise of the BPIF/Unite National Agreement and the ravages of the recession on terms and conditions of employment, this conference calls on the National Industrial Sector Committee to conduct and publish an annual survey of all workplaces in the sector. The aim of the survey is to gather a database of current trends in the sector which may impact on other sites in the absence of a National Agreement. Conference also calls upon the National Industrial Sector Committee to meet with the BPIF on a regular basis in the interests of our members working in the sector

8. BUILDING CLOSER WORKING LINKS WITH OTHER PUBLISHING AND MEDIA UNIONS
This Conference calls upon the GPM Sector NISC to explore a formal protocol with other publishing and media unions and in particular with the NUJ, to assist us in securing union recognition and extending our collective bargaining coverage across the sector.

Working with our sister unions on joint campaigns and sharing resources can only be in the best interest of the members within the joint workplaces that we strive to represent.

The conference further calls on the NISC to ask the union to revisit our dual membership arrangement with the NUJ as we see this as a further assist.

Publishing and Media workers have historically worked jointly in many of our companies and the union needs to promote and support such activity. We ask that in drafting such a protocol the NISC seeks guidance from the officers and senior reps working in this sector.

9. DEFENDING OUR UNION AGREEMENT IN THE WHOLESALE AND DISTRIBUTION SECTORS
This Conference calls upon the GPM NISC to develop a strategy to address the outsourcing of our member’s jobs from our core employers to agencies within the wholesale & distribution sectors.

We have seen a major increase in temporary labour as employers dismiss their permanent workforce and rely more and more often on agency workers.

In these companies where the permanent staff is constantly reducing in numbers and the agency staff are on the increase, we are now seeing a low level of union density and the undermining of our collective terms and conditions in favour of minimum standards.

The NISC is required to defend our members, potential members and our industry standards by strengthening the links between our workplace reps and Unite officials within this sector and ensuring that the adequate resources are in place for our organising and recruitment initiatives to be sustainable.

10. OUTSOURCING
This Conference calls upon Unite NEC and its Officers at all levels to uphold outsourcing of print, packaging, graphics & media related work for the Union, TUC and the Labour Party from recognised Unite GPMs workplaces.

At a time when print, like rest of manufacturing industry, has suffered due to the recession; and the savage ConDem's austerity and cuts agenda.

That has led to many closures, redundancies and the loss of our members livelihoods.

Outsourcing is penalising and under cutting those employers who abide by agreed union policies, procedures and pay rates.

1. This Unite GPM sector conference therefore re-affirms the policy that our union only sources print from GPM recognised companies.
2. We further call on Unite and our NEC to ensure that the TUC and its affiliates does likewise and upholds this principle.
3. That they put pressure on the Labour Party at all levels to comply to ensure all party units, candidates and agents uphold the policy of only sourcing print from approved Unite GPMs unionised companies.

11. LIVING WAGE
Conference endorses a national bargaining objective for a minimum adult hourly pay rate based on the Living Wage (both provincial and London as appropriate) where no collectively bargained national agreement exists, and calls on the GPM NISC to develop a bargaining, organising and political campaign to achieve it.

The following motion was referred to the NISC for further consideration:
12. PAY BARGAINING STRATEGY
Conference calls on the GPM NISC through our National Officer to call national level meetings annually of all Federated Chapels and Groups where these firms are not covered by a National Agreement for the purpose of setting co-ordinated bargaining objectives including the minimum rate of wage increases; in addition, for the independent company sector not operating under a National Agreement, the GPM NISC develops in consultation with the National Officer and appropriate Regional Officers a coherent and sustainable District by District national pay campaign strategy in preparation for the next wage round.

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The government onslaught on TUPE rights - a threat to us all

Workers in IT Services often face being transferred from one employer to another as customer contracts are lost and won.  This process is covered by the EU "Acquired Rights Directive", which became UK law through the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employees) Regulations, commonly known as TUPE.

TUPE was meant to protect workers against having their terms and conditions worsened as a result of the change.  It only ever provided partial protection, with major gaps (for example in relation to pension rights).  There's a UNITE guide to the 2006 regulations here.

Now the government proposes to worsen the limited legal protection we have.  The outcome of the government's "consultation" is here.  Below is an extract from a union commentary on the proposed changes, which are expected to come into effect in January 2014.

The proposals, if implemented, will be very bad news for workers in many industries, but IT Services will be particularly badly hit.  They would make it easier for employers to dismiss workers, short-circuit redundancy consultation, make it easier for employers to change terms and conditions, and open the door to more arguments about whether or not TUPE applies when services switch between suppliers.

It has always been the case that strong union organisation is a better protection for employee rights than just relying on the law.  The changes will make this even more true.  And of course even though the law will still ban some activities by rogue employers, other government changes mean workers not in a union who need to make a tribunal claim will face the prospect of either stumping up sizeable tribunal fees or seeing "no win no fee" solicitors taking a large chunk of their compensation.

This is a government of millionaires helping their mates get richer by slashing the rights of working people.  This week I've been at a UNITE training course on TUPE where reps from different IT & Communications companies came together to learn how best to protect employees during and after TUPE transfers.  It may be possible for union members to challenge the legality of some of the changes as cases come up, but the danger is that workers lose their jobs, terms and conditions while such challenges grind through the courts.  Workers need to get better organised now to defend ourselves when TUPE rears its head.

Unite commentary on proposed changes to TUPE Regulations (5 September 2013)

The government has announced proposed major changes to the TUPE Regulations, including:

·         Restricting the service provision change rules
·         Permitting employers to seek to change terms and conditions derived from a collective agreement after 1 year.
·         Weakening unfair dismissal rights
·         Permitting consultation on possible redundancies before a transfer to count towards the transferees obligations to consult under section 188.

The TUC is concerned that several of the proposed changes do not appear to be consistent with EU law including the Acquired Rights Directive and the Collective Redundancies Directive.

TUPE protects employees' terms and conditions of work when a business is transferred from one owner to another. Staff automatically become employees of the new employer on the same terms and conditions as they were on before, and their continuity of service is also protected.

However, under the government's plans TUPE will not always apply when services are outsourced.

These changes will lead to the erosion of the pay and conditions for low-paid staff in sectors such as cleaning, social care and catering where outsourcing is common, says the TUC. It argues this will have an adverse impact on women, who are more likely to be employed in contracted-out services than men.

In addition, employers will now be able to re-negotiate changes to collective agreements one year after transfer. This will give them extra flexibility to cut pay and conditions after a transfer takes place.

The summary of the government’s proposals with TU side comments are as follows:

·         The Service Provision Changes rules (SPC) will be amended so that they only apply if the service is fundamentally or essentially the same following the transfer. The government argues this is simply codifying case law.

However this change could significantly limit the SPC provisions, with the risk that tens of thousands of service sector workers will lose out on TUPE rights. It will also cause huge uncertainty for employers and lead to increased litigation.

·         The government is proposing two major changes relating to TUPE protected pay and conditions negotiated through collective agreements. The government plan to allow employers to renegotiate collective agreements one year after a transfer. Any changes must be agreed and any changes must not be overall less favourable to employees affected.

This proposal blatantly attacks trade unions’ ability to represent working people. It victimises individuals covered by collective agreement. This approach is not consistent with the Directive. It’s also unclear how they could make this change in EU law.

·         The government is also planning to legislate following the CJEU decision in the Alemo-Herron to provide for a static approach to transferred terms and conditions.

The decision of the CJEU is very problematic and effectively means that the Acquired Rights Directive can be interpreted as providing a ceiling of rights rather than a floor of rights. The TUC plans to raise concerns via the ETUC.

·         Other variations to terms and conditions post transfer. The government also plans to amend regulation 4 to allow for unilateral variation of terms pursuant to a contractual provision if such changes could otherwise have been made.

It’s not clear what this means. We suspect the government plans to say that if employers were able to vary terms and conditions if a transfer had not taken place they should be able to do so after a transfer. The TUC will investigate further to check whether this change will drive a coach and horses through the Regulations.

·         A change of location will become an ETO reason justifying dismissal.

This will mean it will be easier for employers to sack staff after a transfer where work is undertaken in a different location.

·         Wider unfair dismissal rights: The government plan to amend Regulation 7 to ‘more closely to reflect the wording of the Directive’.

These changes will weaken unfair dismissal rights

·         Consultation on redundancies undertaken before the transfer will count towards the new employer’s obligations to consult under section 188 of TULR(C)A 1992.

This will substantially weaken protection for transferring staff. The proposal is also not consistent with the requirements of the Collective Redundancies Directive.

·         Micro firms (with 10 of fewer employees) who do not recognise a union will no longer be obliged consult with employee representatives on TUPE Transfers. They can inform and consult employees directly.

The Directive does not allow for a small firm exemption on this or other TUPE rights. It is essential that consultation continues with recognised unions.

·         The transferor will not be able to rely on the transferee’s ETO to dismiss an individual before the transfer.

This is welcome, although if the government had proceeded to make the proposed change it would have been in breach of the Directive.

·         Disclosure of Employee liability information: The current provisions are to be retained. The notification period will be extended to 28 days before the transfer takes place.

This is welcome, but is mainly a response by government to the business lobby.

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Executive decision on future of IT & Comms in UNITE

Today the UNITE Executive took the decisions on the review of industrial sectors.

In relation to IT & Comms, the decision was broadly in line with the response to the consultation from the IT & Comms National Industrial Sector Committee (NISC).

The IT & Comms sector will be combined with the Graphical, Paper & Media (GPM) sector as the GPM & IT Sector with immediate effect.  An IT & Communications Advisory Committee will be established, subject to review at the end of the current 3-year cycle (2012-2015).

The GPM & IT NISC and Regional Industrial Sector Committees (RISCs) will be formed from all the existing members of the current committees for the remainder of the current term of office, rather than holding fresh elections.  The new combined RISCs will meet from December 2013 and the new NISC from January 2014.

The national sector conference in November 2013 will be a combined GPM & IT one, made up of the delegates elected from the previous sectors.

Work will commence in late 2014/early 2015 on devising new constituencies, including occupational proportionality, for the NISCs and RISCs for electoral period 2015/18.

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UNITE IT & Comms National Industrial Sector Committee

Today's meeting covered a range of issues.  In this short report I will focus on two.

Firstly, the NISC decided the sector's response to the Executive Council consultation on reorganising sectors.  The response is the same as in this post, which had been edited since it went up to incorporate various comments.

Recognising that part of the reason for the consultation was that the IT & Comms sector structures weren't working well, the NISC is asking active members, branches and RISCs from the sector to add their names if they support the response, so that it is clear to the Executive Council when it makes its decision in September that the response has widespread support across the sector.  If you want to add your support to the response please send an email to this address saying so.

The IT & Comms NISC wants, through a subgroup, to have discussions with the GPM sector prior to the September Executive Council meeting to ensure any potential issues are ironed out.

There was also a discussion about the controversy around the Falkirk by-election.  The NISC agreed to send the following emergency motion to the Executive.  A special meeting of the Executive Council meeting can be called when the General Secretary or a majority of the Executive Council considers it necessary - based on the views from the NISC I will be seeing whether there is support for this from other EC members.

This NISC notes:

1)The selection process for the Falkirk by-election has caused a deep crisis in the Labour Party and has seen Labour's right wing mobilising to attack Unite.

2) The crisis opens up serious questions about the trade union movement’s relationship to the party and where that relationship is headed. 

3) Ed Miliband’s treatment of Unite has rightly led our union's general secretary Len McCluskey to condemn the “stitch up” and “scandalous” attempt to smear the union.

4) The suspension of potential candidate Karie Murphy, along with Falkirk Labour party chair and leading Unite activist Stephen Deans is a an outrageous attack on democracy in the party.

5)  Unite, particularly as Labour’s biggest financial backer, has the right to encourage and organise its members to play a role in the selection of candidates.

6)  Recruiting union members into the party is not a crime. It is hardly equitable with the the wining and dining of  bankers and businessmen that shapes Tory policy and has shaped Labour’s in the past.

7) Unite is being treated by Ed Miliband as an “enemy within”.

8) Miliband and Co should be directing their fire against the Tories, against the attacks on the NHS, against the bedroom tax, not against those who are at the sharp end of resisting austerity. 

This NISC believes:

1) Working people deserve political representation. The massive yes vote in the recent ballot in Unite to retain the union’s political fund is proof that workers want a political voice.  

2) Every activist should defend the union against the attacks from Ed Miliband.

3) We need a wide-ranging debate about how workers can secure a political voice. That debate should look at what's happening in the Labour party and the left alternatives. It would be a huge contribution if Len McCluskey initiated such a debate.  

This NISC resolves:

1) To call for an emergency EC to discuss our response to the crisis.

2) To initiate a debate across the union on the fall out from Falkirk, the union's political strategy going forward and the question of political representation.

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Future of the IT & Comms industry in UNITE - consultation

In my report from the Executive Council meeting last week, I highlighted the proposals from the administration for reorganisation of several UNITE industrial sectors, including IT & Communications.

There have already been some discussions amongst activists in the sector by phone, email and at Regional Industrial Sector Committee (RISC) meetings.  In the light of those, some of us have pulled together an initial draft for a response to the consultation.  Discussions are ongoing but it will be important to have a response that has broad support in the sector by the time our National Industrial Sector Committee (NISC) meets on Tuesday 9th July.  Following responses from the sectors, the Executive Council will take the decision at its September meeting.

In the meantime, I'd welcome comments and discussion on the draft response below.  There are various versions around, so I will try to keep the version here up to date as the discussion continues.

The Consultation

The June 2013 UNITE Executive Council meeting approved a document on sector reorganisation to go out to the affected sectors for consultation.

In relation to the IT & Comms sector, the proposal was:

“That the Electrical Engineering & Electronics, the IT & Communications and the Servicing and General Industries national industrial sectors be combined in one new sector: General Engineering, Manufacturing and Servicing (GEMS). It is proposed that a small section of the IT & Communications membership working in broadcasting be transferred to the Graphical, Paper & Media sector instead”

The main purpose of sectors is to deal with industrial business.  They are also one of the dimensions of the UNITE constitutional structure with its various committees and conferences.  Each sector has a Regional Industrial Sector Committee (RISC) in each region, a National Industrial Sector Committee (NISC), a national sector conference, delegates to Regional Committees, policy and rules conferences, and at least one seat on the Executive Council.

The industry and the opportunity

The IT & Communications industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in the UK.  Public and private sector organisations increasingly rely on IT & Comms companies to provide and support vital infrastructure and services without which they could not operate.  These companies now hold a position in the economy almost as pivotal as energy supply.  Without them, the country would stop.

It is strategically important for UNITE to place itself at the centre of unionising the IT & Communications industry if the union is to grow and retain power in strategic parts of the economy.

Commoditisation of products, services and skills is accelerating downward pressure on pay, terms and conditions in the industry.  Workers in IT & Comms urgently need union organisation.

There is very little IT & Comms manufacturing left in the UK.  The vast majority of employment is in software and services, with the majority of our membership in the IT Services subsector.

A few years ago, the IT industry had the fastest membership growth in the union.  A lack of focus and strategy has seen this growth tail off.  We have the opportunity to reverse this with a reorganisation of the sector.

The problems

The IT & Comms industry is at an early stage of unionisation.  In developing effective structures, there is always a balance between being representative and being inclusive.  A stable, established and well unionised industry will prioritise ensuring the “right” people are on the various committees.  When the Organising Department is putting together a combine for a sectoral campaign, it tries to include as many activists as possible to help build up the union.  The priority for UNITE in IT & Comms is building up the activist base to build the union and we need structures that enable this, recognising that the numbers of reps are not great in all regions and many reps, particularly those still working towards securing union recognition, have difficulties securing release from work.

In most regions, responsibility for the IT & Comms membership is spread across a number of Regional Officers, each of whom has IT & Comms as only a small part of their allocation.  This makes it more difficult for any officer to focus on the sector or to build links between IT & Comms activists.  It also makes it more difficult for RISCs to get reports from the workplaces they cover.

A large proportion of the membership in the IT & Comms sector is employed by a small number of companies with membership in each spread across multiple regions.  The nature of the industry means that employers rarely organise on a geographical basis, with many industrial issues affecting members in multiple UNITE regions.  This doesn’t fit easily with UNITE Regional Officer allocation, and can lead to officers in different regions duplicating work or presenting a disconnected face to the employer.  Nor is it realistic to expect National Officers to pick up every multi-region issue.

Organisations across the public and private sector outsource work to IT & Communication companies, but UNITE membership records are not always updated promptly to show the new employer and members are not always reallocated to the IT & Comms sector.  This acts as a barrier to organising in the sector and means that membership figures understate reality.  The December 2012 EC meeting agreed motion 9 to address this, but the NISC has not yet received any progress update.

The December 2012 Executive Council approved motion 11 to allow more flexibility with the days and times of meetings, and to allow video or voice conferences to be used as a last resort.  As far as we are aware, little effort has yet been made to see how much this can help make the sector work properly.

An alternative proposal

Whatever sector IT & Communications members are placed in, there are 4 priorities:

1. Ensuring that activists from IT & Communications can meet regularly at national level to deal with industrial and organising business
2. Ensuring efficient officer allocation so that reps have effective support without duplicating work
3. Ensuring that IT & Comms activists are not excluded from sectoral structures
4. Ensuring that UNITE maintains a profile as the lead union in the IT & Communications industry by including IT & Comms in the new sector name

In line with rule 7.10.1, there should be a national Advisory Committee for the IT & Comms industry, open to reps in the industry, and which should meet four times a year.  This would have no constitutional status, other than being able to submit motions to the NISC, but will allow the industrial and organising business of the industry to be dealt with properly, in a way which it could not in the RISCs and NISCs of a wider sector.  This would retain some of the benefit of the one part of the existing ITC structure that functions reasonably well, the NISC, which brings together key reps from companies in the industry.

Central to reviving efforts to unionise the IT & Communications industry has to be a more rational approach to officer allocation.  Unless there are specific reasons why it is impractical:

• Each region should have one or two officers whose allocation includes most of the region’s IT & Comms membership.
• For each company with significant UNITE membership in IT & Comms in more than one region, one Regional Officer will be made the “lead” for that company for multi-region issues, allowing them to build up knowledge and relationships with the reps, the company and other officers dealing with the company.

Participation within a larger sector should give ITC activists access to a functioning RISC.  ITC should form a constituency within the various sector structures to ensure issues specific to ITC are not lost in the wider sector.

The IT & Communications sector should be merged into the Graphical, Paper & Media sector to form the Graphical, Paper, Media, IT & Communications (GPMITC) sector.  While nothing is ideal, GPM is a better fit than SGI because it already contains significant membership in publishing which is increasingly electronic and/or online.  It is important that the sector name contains ITC to maintain our profile when other unions are also trying to organise in the sector, including CWU, Connect and PCS.

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