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Address: Email: info@unions21.org.uk Tel: 020 7239 1224 Fax: 020 7278 8378 |
Unions 21 Trade Union Week 5 - 10 March Changing
Unions in a Changing World
In March 2007, Unions 21 held its annual conference at Congress House. The conference had a keynote speaker who was ideally placed to address the theme of "Changing Unions in a Changing World" - David Miliband MP, at the time Secretary of State for the Environment. David Miliband spoke about how the trade union tradition dovetails with the battle against climate change. Trade union values include social justice, collective responsibility and internationalism and all these are required to help save the environment. Social justice is important because climate change impacts most on the poorest people and nations. Collective responsibility is needed so that everybody plays a part in helping protect the environment. And internationalism - all countries need to act together to have any chance of success.
The minister suggested a number of ways that trade unions can get involved. First, as organisations with seven million members, trade unions can play a great role in getting the green message out and mobilising their members - domestic use accounts for the biggest part of the UK's carbon footprint. Second, as key community players unions can help involve other members of the community. Third, unions are a powerful political force providing another voice on the need for action on the environment. Fourth is the role that trade unions can play in the workplace - by engaging with employers, finding new, greener ways of working and putting the environment at the heart of workplace activity. Responding to the
Minister, The TUC's Deputy
General Secretary, Frances O'Grady The conference also
heard from Earlier in the week Unions 21 visited Manchester to discuss "whatever happened to partnership?" and Leicester, where Roger McKenzie (TUC Midlands Regional Secretary) and Jennifer Moses (Equalities National Officer at NASUWT) discussed "Changing Attitudes: Unions and Equalities".
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Debbie
Coulter of the GMB looked at some of the other challenges that unions
face from globalisation. She was confident that unions can respond to
the new threats such as climate change by "energising a new generation
of workplace reps". Already union environmental reps are having
an impact but they really need statutory recognition to ensure that
their work can really make a difference. Chris Keates, General Secretary
of NASUWT, made the case for 
,
opened the conference with a frank assessment of the current state of
the unions and warning of the dangers of appearing to be "a public
sector interest group" as union density in the private sector remained
low. But she said that unions can be positive about their ability to
"shape the world around us" as unions have shown throughout
their history. The challenge now is to get out and organise and reach
out to those workers that have never had any contact with a union. Unions
have a good track record on current issues such as their intervention
in the pensions debate, promotion of the work-life balance and broadening
out the learning and skills agenda. All these issues demonstrate that
union values are as relevant now as they ever have been and they can
be applied to "articulate a compelling alternative vision of what
work can be". 
Tony
Dubbins, Deputy General Secretary of Amicus and Chair of TULO, who gave
a thought-provoking speech about the changes in political party funding
and how they could affect the whole of the union movement.