Belgium's National Federation of White-Collar Workers wanted to know what its members and activists thought about their union, and thus commissioned a specialised research institute to conduct a postal survey. The results, published in March 1998, present a sophisticated image of today's trade unionism as relating to people as individuals, but without forgetting common issues.
The National Federation of White-Collar Workers (Centrale Nationale des Employés, CNE), affiliated to the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (Confédération des Syndicats Chrétiens/Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond, CSC/ACV), is a French-speaking trade union with 127,000 members comprising managerial and professional staff and administrative and technical white-collar workers from the industrial and financial private sectors, commerce and the non-profit sector in Brussels and Wallonia. It also includes unemployed people, people on early retirement and pensioners. Its Flemish equivalent, the Landelijke Bedienden Central (LBC) has 240,000 members.
In the world of Christian trade unions, the CNE is rather exceptional: on various questions, including reducing working time, its positions are often ahead of those of its confederation, the CSC/ACV. The latter is the largest union organisation in Flanders and has great influence on the present Prime Minister's political party.
For these reasons, and also because trade unions are not in the habit of examining their activists' expectations in this way, the results of a survey which the CNE has just carried out could be instructive for the Christian and Socialist trade unions as a whole. The postal survey, commissioned from a specialised research institute, examined attitudes towards the CNE, and the findings were published in March 1998 ("2,020 syndiqués répondent à 115 questions sur leur syndicat", CNE, March 1998). Among the 2,020 people who replied to the survey: 919 were union representatives and 1,101 rank-and-file members; 60.6% were men and 39.4% women; 76% were in work, 12% out of work and 9% in early retirement or retired.
The questions asked covered internal democracy as well as the main social, national and democratic issues, such as social security, reduction of working time, employment as a top priority, international solidarity, "social Europe", the situation of women and racism.
What should today's trade union be?
Of those who replied, 84% thought that a trade union was more necessary than ever before. Its role should be to organise solidarity and power relations (77% and 64% respectively) rather than to offer individual services (56%). The respondents wanted a fighting trade union that gave priority to collective interests, even if 80% also went to the union to solve individual legal, administrative and social problems and to find out about their rights. Curiously, union representatives thought otherwise: they perceived members as mainly attracted by the services.
Collective action was thus favoured, and the priority should, according to respondents, be placed on: protecting social security (63.3%); combating social exclusion (53.3%); reducing working time without loss of pay (42%); or prioritising jobs rather than wage rises (37.9%).
Reduction of working time
Women and men were divided on the question whether to accept loss of pay in exchange for reduced working time: 47% of the women opposed pay losses compared with 39% of the men. Union representatives opposed it even more firmly (53% against). The protection of wage levels was particularly stressed in the retail sector (58%).
Younger and older people differed: 53% of those aged under 35 and on a low household income were against loss of pay, while the figure was 31% for those on a higher household income. Among older people, it was the opposite: 42% of those on a higher income were against loss of pay, compared with only 13% or 22% (according to the income bracket) of those on a lower income.
Democratic issues
"Democratic" issues do not appear to attract great support. Social Europe is a priority for only 34.1% of members; international solidarity for 31.8%; equality between men and women for 22.2%; the environment for 16.6%; and fighting racism for 10.6%. There is not much difference between union representatives and members on this question. Those giving greater support to democratic questions appeared to be members in the non-profit making sector and some non-industrial sectors.
What should a union representative be?
Members preferred union representatives to be "capable of listening", "honest" and "well trained" (74%, 70% and 56% respectively), rather than being a "leader" (14%). However, the qualities were perceived differently depending on the individual's situation: for union representatives themselves, a representative must be first of all a "fighter" (45%), then a "social worker" (39%) and lastly a "legal expert "(18%). For members, in work or out, the representative must be primarily a "social worker" (about 45%).
Combativeness was important for those out of work and for those employed by large firms (40% and 35%). Workers in small firms needed a "legal expert" most (34%).
Internal democracy
Some 69% of members would like to be able to have serious discussions with the candidates selected by union federations for workforce elections of representatives on company joint bodies. Of those responding, 27% thought that sometimes just anybody was put on the union's lists of candidates. This need for discussion came up in replies to a question on the consultation of members: the union representatives said that they often consulted members (76.4%), a claim which was however contradicted by members themselves: 41% said they were "sometimes" consulted and 29% said "never".
Very few members attended union meetings (10.1%) and 54% said they wanted to decide on issues through referendums - which was logical if they did not attend meetings.
It is noticeable that certain forms of mobilisation and trade union culture have changed: as regards commitment to activism, while 24% of union representatives wanted to involve themselves further, only between 10% and 12% of members were ready to do so, and fewer women (13%) than men (20%). One-quarter would do so more if they were able to reconcile the commitment and their private lives. However, for 21%, the reason for not engaging was that the CNE did not listen enough.
More corporatist or more open?
The National Federation of White-Collar Workers is open to all white-collar workers and managerial and professional staff in every sector. One-third of survey respondents wanted to keep this structure, especially the union representatives and workers in firms with union representation. The fact that managers/professionals were members of the same union as other workers was said to be a good thing by 58% of those who replied.
A quarter of respondents proposed grouping all similar jobs in four main union "channels" (industry, commercial services, services to people, public administration) covering the private and the public sector. A further quarter would like to focus the union on sectors of activity or firms, whatever the member's status: blue-collar worker, white-collar worker or manager/professional.
Whatever the formula, it could be interpreted as a desire for trade union unity, also expressed in the rejection by 44% of the separation of the French- and Flemish-speaking white-collar union federations.
Men and women: quotas remain controversial
The discussion on equality between men and women in trade unions was considered carefully: 62% of CNE members and 40% of union representatives are women. The proposal to introduce quotas for women's representation on the lists of candidates for election or in the union structure was supported by 51% of women, while men were divided, with 39% for and 38% against.
The terms of the discussion remained ambiguous as they confused assessment of the method with the aims pursued: the introduction of quotas to force the representation of women was criticised by both women and men, and interviewees were not given the opportunity to express their views on any other equality policy requiring parity between men and women on slates of candidates and in structures.
Commentary
The CNE's initiative has been hailed as daring in the press, as it might have revealed a gap between "bureaucratic" theory and grassroots reality. The result emerges in half tones, since while those who replied tended to agree with their union's choices, their criticisms tended to concern internal functioning and the lack of democracy. The respondents also expressed some contradictory aspirations which reflected the composite nature of today's working world.
The CNE will present these results to its affiliates during the next few months in preparation for its congress in October 1998. (Philippe Dryon and Estelle Krzeslo, Point d'Appui Travail Emploi Formation - ULB)