Union develops new organising strategy for non-unionised companies

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has developed a new strategy for organising workers in non-unionised companies. The strategy follows similar initiatives by other trade unions to increase their membership and will include measures targeting the suppliers of larger companies. CWU has also concluded a collective agreement with two non-unionised companies, as well as stepping up its efforts to increase trade union recognition in another Irish company.

A new organising strategy has been developed by the Communications Workers Union (CWU) for workers in non-unionised companies. The strategy follows similar initiatives by other trade unions – such as Ireland’s largest union, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), the retail union Mandate and Ireland’s second largest general union, Unite. CWU will set aside a proportion of its budget to develop its new organising model.

The strategy is one of a number of moves by Irish trade unions, including the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), to avert the declining trade union density in an economy that was – until recently – marked by high employment growth.

Union efforts to increase membership

According to an exclusive report in the specialist weekly publication Industrial Relations News (IRN), among the key challenges identified by CWU is to develop its membership in non-unionised companies. Research conducted by the union refers to organising campaigns by other trade unions – both in Ireland and overseas. This includes a move by SIPTU to set up a specialist Organising Department almost five years ago, which now has 12 union officials.

Moreover, SIPTU recently appointed a Special Commission, whose recommendations include:

• increasing expenditure on organising to 25% of contributions, up from the current levels of between 6% and 8%;

• establishing a new sectoral structure with its own organising systems;

• tracking membership and encouraging follow-up phone calls;

• highlighting the central issue of resources being spent on individual matters (90% for 5%);

• the development of a Member Service Centre.

Meanwhile, the trade union Mandate recently announced a number of new measures, including:

• the establishment of a union training facility;

• the appointment of a head of organising;

• a significant increase in investment in information technology (IT), including in a membership database.

Furthermore, the union Unite has appointed a team of five organisers and team leaders.

CWU has also been tracking international best practice, notably in the United Kingdom and the US; this includes, for instance, examining the way in which US unions use campaigning and political leverage. To date, CWU has developed a training module for organising and recruitment; it has also developed international networks with other unions and signed global agreements. While the trade union has had some success in its target companies, its new organising strategy seeks to take this objective even further.

Details of new organising strategy

CWU’s next move will be to establish an organising budget and team, comprising two specialist organising officers. The main responsibilities of the organising officers will be to construct and implement strategic organising plans, which aim to develop the membership base in new and existing workplaces; at the same time, they will seek to service the needs of new members and to represent individual members in grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Targeting companies

The union also intends to identify and target new companies as part of its strategy. The list of target companies stretches right across current and potential CWU operations. In some companies, the union already has a small presence; in others, it will launch completely fresh organising drives.

Significantly, CWU intends to target companies outside what is regarded as its traditional communications heartlands. Moreover, it will target suppliers that provide services to bigger companies – such as cleaning, catering and security services.

Communications strategy

CWU will also review its communications strategy: this will include examining its online application process and assessing the need for multilingual materials.

CWU increases its presence in large companies

In June 2008, CWU concluded a collective agreement with two major non-unionised companies – the mobile phone company O2 Ireland and the IT provider IBM Ireland (IE0806029I). The agreement stipulated the terms of employment that would apply when staff at O2 Ireland’s IT division were due to transfer to IBM. In 2007, it was announced that O2 Ireland would outsource 450 of its staff in two separate phases by the end of 2008.

Earlier this year, in a bid to gain union recognition at the telecommunications provider BT Ireland, CWU adopted a multi-pronged strategy, including a public relations (PR) and email campaign targeting top executives. As part of this campaign, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BT and another top manager received thousands of emails requesting trade union recognition for collective bargaining purposes. The union also posted billboard advertisements around Dublin city centre.

Union cites discrimination of recognition rights

It should be noted that CWU members employed by BT in Northern Ireland have trade union recognition and representation rights, whereas those employed by BT in the Republic of Ireland do not. CWU is demanding equal treatment with regard to trade union recognition rights, claiming that staff are being discriminated against because they are Irish. In the Republic, however, the Irish Constitution does not oblige companies to recognise trade unions for the purposes of collective bargaining, although individuals are entitled to freedom of association. The Industrial Relations Acts 2001–2004, which were devised to deal with this problem, are to be subject to a review by the social partners, if the recently negotiated draft national-level agreement under the framework of [Towards 2016 (2.86Mb PDF)](http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/attached_files/Pdf files/Towards2016PartnershipAgreement.pdf) is formally ratified in mid November 2008 (IE0810019I).

Brian Sheehan, IRN Publishing