View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Keele Research Repository This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights and duplication or sale of all or part is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for research, private study, criticism/review or educational purposes. Electronic or print copies are for your own personal, non- commercial use and shall not be passed to any other individual. No quotation may be published without proper acknowledgement. For any other use, or to quote extensively from the work, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder/s. Union representation under restructuring and austerity: The case of Unite in the Ministry of Defence Andrew Hanks Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations. 22nd June 2016 Keele University Abstract. This doctoral thesis seeks to answer the question what factors influence Trade Union representation? Using a case study design, the researcher uses documentary analysis and elite, semi-structured interviews, to evaluate the knowledge and experiences of union representatives, both nationally and workplace based, working in the MoD sector of Unite. This study of a relatively under-researched part of the public sector, demonstrates that for union representation to be effective: the union needs to be recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining; members need access to shop stewards and full time officials; clear structures need to be in place, demonstrating how the union should function; and the union needs to be able to protect and further the interests of its members. It is concluded that in the MoD sector of Unite this does not happen, meaning that representation is not effective. This research highlights a need for greater appreciation of the complexities of the super or conglomerate type unions that have emerged in response to union decline. It demonstrates, in particular, the need for the seminal work of Turner (1962) to be systematically updated and for further research to be carried out into the influence of factions on union government. The contemporary relevance of this research relates to the dramatic cuts to facility time that it analyses, alongside the government’s privatisation policies, providing empirical evidence of the difficulties that could be faced by British trade unions, if the Trade Union Reform Bill, going through parliament at the time of writing, is passed into law. The MoD Employee Relations review can be seen as a test bed for the Bill’s components on the restriction of trade union facility time in the public sector, and this thesis is, therefore, timely. Contents. Chapter Tittle. Page. Number. Acknowledgments. i Abbreviations and Acronyms. ii 1 Introduction. 1 2 Contemporary issues of trade union government, 8 democracy and representation. 3 The complexities of trade union structures – the case 61 of Unite. 4 The complexities of trade union representation – the 112 case of Unite in the Ministry of Defence. 5 Theoretical considerations when researching trade 135 union representation 6 Methodological Considerations. 163 7 The Findings 202 8 Conclusion 305 Bibliography 315 Annex A: MoD Whitley Constitution. Annex B: MoD Employee Relations policy. Annex C: Employee Relations Review. Annex D: Identification of the Sample. Annex E: Ethics. Acknowledgments. My thanks go to the staff of Keele Management School’s HRM group, all of which have offered me help and support at some point on this journey. I would like to specifically mention my supervisor, for this PhD, Dr Steve French. Steve has been a brilliant mentor throughout this process but also a fantastic friend, without which this thesis would have been an even more difficult task.. I would like to thank the activists and officials of Unite’s MoD sector, who took part in this research. Without these tirelessly hard working men and woman this PhD would never have been possible. I, therefore, thank them for the help that they have given me and for their time and patience. Most of all I would like to thank my family. This PhD has been a long and often testing journey, which would just not have been possible without their love and support. Therefore, I would like to thank my parents, whose constant nagging/interest in how I am getting on has often been a source of motivation. I would also like to thank the three children who have put up with me. I send the most heartfelt love and appreciation to my wonderful partner, and future wife Lesley Hillman. She is my inspiration in life and someone who makes me feel proud every day. This process has seen some very difficult days, which only we will ever truly know. She has stuck by me through the good times and bad and I look forward to rewarding her bravery and loyalty, by now being there for her in the way that she has always been there for me. i Acronyms and Abbreviations. ABRO Army Base Repair Organisation AEEU Amalgamated Electrical and Engineering Union AEU Amalgamated Engineering Union APC Armoured Personnel Carrier ASE Amalgamated Society of Engineering ASTMS Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs AUEW Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers AUEW(E) Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (Engineering Sector) AUFW Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers. AUT Association of University Teachers BA British Airways BALPA British Airline Pilots Association BDC Biannual Delegate Conference. BIFU Bank, Insurance and Finance Union CEU Constructional Engineering Union CSEU Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions CVRT Combat /Vehicle Recognisance Tracked DARA Defence Aviation Repair Agency DATA Draftsman and Allied Trades Association DSDC Defence, Storage and Distribution Centre DSG Defence Support Group DWRGWU Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers Union EETPU Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunication and Plumbing Union ERR Employee Relations Review ETU Electrical Trade Union EHRC Equality and Human Rights Commission ER Environmental Representative EFEA Employers Federation of Engineering Associations EU European Union EIS Educational Institute of Scotland FDA First Division Association GPMU Graphical Paper and Media Union GR Green Representative HRM Human Resource Management IPMS Institute of Professionals Managers and Specialists IRA Industrial Relations Act JSSC Joint Shop Stewards Committee LGBT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual MCSU MoD Civil Service Unions MDHC Mersey Docks and Harbour Company MoD Ministry of Defence. MP Member of Parliament MSF Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union ii NASUWT National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Woman Teachers NATFHE National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education NGA National Graphical Association NISC National Industrial Sector Committee NUGMW National Union of General Municipal Workers NUM National Union of Mineworkers PCS Public and Commercial Services Union POA Prison Officers Association RISC Regional Industrial Sector Committee SDSR Strategic Defence and Security Review SOGAT Society of Graphical and Allied Trades TGWU Transport and General Workers Union TASS Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section TUC Trade Union Congress TWF Transport Workers Federation ULR Union Learning Representatives UMF Union Modernisation Fund WERS Workplace Employment Relations Survey iii Chapter one: Introduction. Unite the Union was formed in 2007 from a merger of Amicus, the UK’s largest private sector union and the third largest, Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU). These unions had very different backgrounds, Amicus being able to trace its history back to the craft unions of the early eighteenth century, whilst the TGWU was rooted in the new unionism of the 1890s. This thesis will attempt to explore the complexities of a super or conglomerate union, such as Unite, in relation to structures, internal governance and representation. Responding to the decline faced by trade unions, which started in 1979 with the election of a Conservative government, and which has continued unabated to the current time, unions have adopted a number of strategies, designed as methods to try to end the decay in the their fortunes. ‘New’ strategies have been introduced, such as partnership, servicing and organising, linked with a merger market which has seen an immense number of transfers and amalgamations, culminating in the creation of Unite, as the UK’s largest trade union. Whilst research has been carried out into union structure, democracy and representation, the majority of the robust literature that has been written is now quite old, with the seminal work being that of Turner, (1962) and Cole (1939) in terms of structure, Turner (1962) and Hughes (1968) on internal governance and Batstone et al, (1979) on representation. Whilst some of this is still very valid, other parts are notably dated and predominantly based on the private sector rather than the public sector, where the majority of union members are now found, and which has been profoundly influence by the Whitely system of industrial relations. The contemporary research that exists has a tendency to be fragmented, focused narrowly upon the ‘new’ strategies, pursued by unions, in reference to trying to halt their decline. While 1 much has been written about merger, organising, partnership and servicing (Waddington 2005, Undy 2008, Daniels 2009, Heery et al 2003), and there has been a nascent literature around the growth of new representative roles (such as union learning representatives and equality representatives) (Moore 2011, Daniels and McIlroy 2009), it can be argued that this literature does not address how these strategies or representative roles are linked to union governance or structure. Frequently there is a narrow focus upon what is being done and how this affects the union externally, rather than on how the strategies are integrated, or not, into the existing structures and governance of the union. It is the aim of this thesis to address some of these gaps and the fragmented nature of industrial relations research by conducting a case study of the MoD and Government Establishment sector (MoD sector) of Unite the Union.