Mandate Assistant General Secretary Gerry Light’s address to conference 2018
Monday 23 April 2018President, Delegates and Distinguished Guests
There can be no doubt that since the last time we met at the Galway BDC in 2016 your Union has, since its formation nearly a quarter of a century ago in 1994, faced some of the most serious and sinister developments which left unchallenged could threaten our very existence. Similarly there can be no doubt that these attacks have been contrived by a number of employers who are determined to heavily invest time and money in order to ensure their ultimate goal, which is to rid themselves of a unionised workforce.
As we leave the wake of the recession years behind us it would appear that certain employers are determined their workers will be denied any real chance of experiencing the benefits of an improving economy. What we have experienced is a concerted attempt to roll back the years and wipe out many of the terms and conditions of employment previously negotiated. Not satisfied with achieving this outcome some have gone further in the pursuit of their hostile objectives by attempting to tear up established collective agreements which have been at the core of what we have won in the past and are critical to what we are likely to win in the future.
Along with these realities are the challenges posed by the rapid pace of technological change and online shopping and the obvious impact these developments have on the displacement of real jobs and security of earnings. We also have to deal with the ever increasing competitive nature of the Irish retail sector which has brought to the fore a business model that is built around not only a low cost/low service but also a low wage culture. Throw into the mix the still unknown negative consequences of Brexit and the ongoing failure of Irish government policy to tackle our housing, childcare and healthcare crises you can see that the foreseeable future remains at best uncertain and full of risk that has the potential of hitting workers and their dependents the hardest, unless of course we decide to do something about it.
One thing is for sure a combination of all of the circumstances I have just outlined will further lead to world where a job is seen more as a disposable commodity. The danger is as this world of precarious work deepens workers start to conform to its norms by expecting little and demanding less. Of course workers have a choice of whether such a bleak future is inevitable, if they don’t then they must use the most potent antidote, to the social ills that emanate from substandard working conditions, and that is the power and effective utilisation of organised labour. It’s no wonder so many employers are anxious to either rid themselves of trade unions where they already exist or prevent them from establishing in the first place where they don’t. Employers get it they fully understand the potential of the collective but as workers come to understand and accept this proposition they must be prepared to deliver on the potential that the collective has to offer. However, we must not fool ourselves into thinking that doing nothing is an option or that somebody else will do it for you because by constantly refusing to step up and engage we will ultimately weaken to the point where any form of credible fightback will be next to impossible. We simply cannot put off until tomorrow the actions that are required today.
Of course one of the most effective ways your Union can ensure that the gap between those who have and those who have less does not widen even further is through the implementation of an effective industrial relations strategy. This should also serve to convince workers contemplating joining that their long term interests are best served by being a Union member. Over the past two years we have continued to deliver a strategy that is built around the following main pillars. First, we have been successful in negotiating pay increases largely on a no concession basis. Second, we have also ensured the protection and growth of earnings through the progressive development and introduction of banded hours’ agreements. Third, we continue to steadfastly hold the line by refusing to negotiate the introduction of lesser terms and conditions for new entrants. Let the message go out from this conference that this line in the sand has been truly set and we will continue to fight to ensure that it is not crossed in the future. Fourth, we have also taken on board the significance of pay equality to our members and this will be an integral part of pay and benefit claims going forward. With one voice let our new mantra be, an equal days pay for an equal days work. And finally we no longer waste time in trying to get employers to come to the negotiating table when clearly they have no desire to do so. Instead in such circumstances we have and will continue to campaign for the introduction of legislative change the takes away the disproportionate degree of control these employers currently have over workers. But delegates make no mistake about it changes in the law no matter how positive will only partially deliver in comparison to what is achievable through collective bargaining directly conducted between a Trade Union and an employer. We are also proud to report that the process of reaching out to our members individually by way of a survey in each national company prior to engagement with their relevant employers has now become and will remain an important practice in order to ensure that the members are directly connected to and afforded the opportunity to prioritise items for inclusion during negotiations.
Of course one of the most critical functions preformed on an industrial relations front is to ensure that we effectively act to defend the established hard won terms and conditions of our members. Over the last two years we have witnessed in Tesco Ireland a deliberate and systematic attempt to tear up the collective agreements that they freely entered. Contrary to the general belief that the relationship with this employer has somewhat settled nothing could be further from the truth and the constant fight to stop them from de-recognising the Union and its members is still ongoing and has many rounds to go. Some 12 weeks ago the Labour Court recommended that the Company engage with the Union in order to build a new relationship. Today as I stand here they have refused to respond to this request. Recognising this deepening crisis that that will inevitably lead to more conflict the Chair of the Labour Court wrote to both parties late on Friday evening inviting them back into exploratory talks on the 27th of this month. We will of course attend at the Court however, it is hard to be hopeful given the Company’s behaviour up to now. No longer will we allow them play the game of hide and seek and as one of Ireland’s biggest employers we demand that they honour their responsibility to the thousands of their workers to turn up at the Court and conduct meaningful discussions. If they don’t then the choice is ours.
Do we sit back and simply watch our current collective power in Tesco be eroded to a point of weakness and ultimately an inability to take decisive action or do we engage in a multi-facetted industrial and public relations campaign in order to bring this employer back to the negotiating table. It seems to me that logic dictates the direction we need to go and when I say we I mean predominantly our members employed in Tesco. The choice is simple, you stand and defend what you have or you run the real risk of losing everything. If you stand, your Union will stand every step of the way with you.
Delegates like me I’m sure you are fed up to your back teeth listening to the constant moaning of employers and their representative bodies and the way they rigorously resist the introduction of any new worker friendly legislation. Along with this they have the audacity to blame the Trade Union movement for seeking such change. Do they never stop for one moment to recognise and accept that the momentum for such change comes from the behaviour of their own members like Dunnes who constantly refuse to reasonably recognise the legitimate right of their workers to be represented by a Trade Union. Simply put employers cannot have it both ways in that they cannot be allowed to refuse to collectively bargain whilst at the same time bemoan and fight against the introduction of statutory measures designed to protect some of the most vulnerable workers in our society. So let IBEC go knock on Margaret Heffernan’s door and explain that it is as a result of the way she treats employees, that’s the reason why we are about to see the introduction of new legislation governing certainty of earnings and we make no apologies for it
Delegates, we must at this stage recognise and applaud the critical role and the ongoing struggle for decency by our members in Dunnes which has brought us to the cusp of the introduction of new laws which will potentially benefit not only them but indeed all workers in the country. Their contribution and service to the cause of all workers surely exceeds any reasonable call to duty and they are to be commended for this.
I also want to inform conference that I recently wrote a lengthy letter to the principal owners of Dunnes a copy of which can be viewed from today on our website. The letter was basically a proposition to the owners challenging them to consider whether the adversarial industrial relations model that they have adopted for many years is in fact bad and not good for their business. I also pointed out that if the likes of Ryanair has the capacity of adopting a radically different model of engagement with Trade Unions then Dunnes at the very least should give serious consideration to making such a change. I finished the letter by stating that the delegates to this conference would be interested to hear a response and indeed would welcome one if it was of a positive nature. Guess what, nothing, Dunnes continue to believe that they are a law onto themselves and will continue to resist the call for change that is happening around them. Certain aspects of the Dunnes business in recent times has been about progressive modernisation and a more upmarket offer to the customer, it’s just a pity that they do not apply the same approach when it comes to how they treat their staff where regression and old standards seem to be the order of the day.
This brings me to what I believe is the next big challenge that needs to be championed by Mandate in collaboration with the entire Union movement and this is the need for legislation to allow for statutory collective bargaining rights. It’s through the anti-union behaviour of employers such as Dunnes, Tesco, Paddy Power, Lloyds Pharmacy, IKEA, Lidl and Aldi that an overwhelming body of evidence is building to support the call for statutory negotiating rights. In recent years employers such as these have decided, probably in collaboration with each other, to hide behind an extreme interpretation of the voluntarist industrial relations model of engagement. They simply believe that volunteerism means an absolute right of not having to engage with workers representatives when requested to do so. Such an approach also has the effect of rendering the value of a workers constitutional right to association to that of junk status. The balance as it currently exists is totally skewed in favour of the employer. Even a Section 20(1) referral the Labour Court offers limited value given that an employer is not obliged to attend at the Court or be bound by its recommendation. Speaking of the State agencies we must ensure that they do not start to favour the evolving model of engagement that sees no place for Unions. Rather workers interests are channeled through and managed by an ever increasing number of self-serving private consultancy firms along with dubious internal worker representative groups who in some instances are closer to and deliver the interests of the employer over those of the general workforce. In the recent Lloyds Labour Court case for example the employer actually admitted they financially support the establishment of the questionably internal staff representative body, this is a classic case of he who pays the piper, if ever there was one.
The campaign for legislation to enable statutory collective bargaining rights must start immediately and we need to have it as a central demand prior to the next general election whenever that’s likely to happen. Be certain of this delegates whatever path we choose whether it be through legislative means or collective bargaining we are more likely to succeed if we continue to organise and grow our density levels to the point the no employer can risk to ignore our most potent weapon and that is the power of the collective acting as one in a determined fashion.
Finally, delegates the theme of this conference is Organise, Organise, Organise. The formula for success in an industrial relations capacity is relatively simple and lies entirely within our own grasp to achieve. Greater density by Greater activism equals Greater success at the negotiating table. Whilst certain employers will do everything they can in the interest of selfish corporate greed and profit hoarding to disrupt our objectives our future is ours to determine. If we let them do this for us then there will be without question negative consequences and we can’t really blame anybody but ourselves. So let’s vow for the next two years to lessen our dependency on the law, the Labour Court, the WRC and others to deliver for us when we have the power and capacity to deliver it for ourselves. Delegates let nobody tell you otherwise you are the agents for change. The only thing that stands in your way is a lack of collective will and determination to make it happen. As Union members we must protect and strengthen the proud legacy we have inherited and in doing this we will ensure a better future for your generations and those to come.
Thank you.
