By | 3 min
Melanie Simms
Partnership is a much maligned and misunderstood concept in employment amongst academics, trade unionists and managers. In one sense, we all need partnership so that work gets done, workers get paid and life ticks along nicely. The question is what kind of partnership? And to what end?
Much of the academic literature in partnership discusses arrangements in the public sector where unions are generally strong and there have been some notably positive relationships which have helped defend and build public services: NHS Scotland is a noteworthy example.
But what about the private sector? The decline of union influence is particularly marked in the private sector where less than 15% of workers are now members. Partnership in that context means something very different. Often from a position of weakness and with a lack of institutional support, unions have sometimes found themselves agreeing to deals that ill-serve member interests.
Putting aside the public sector where the dynamics are very different, society needs a strong, independent critique of companies and of managerial decisions. Yes, compromises are needed to ensure that work gets done. But the current nature of hyper-financialised capitalism means that employers often can't uphold their side of the bargain required for partnership to work.
Specifically, the perpetual restructuring of business units driven by financial priorities makes it difficult for local managers to stay in position long, and means even where local partnership deals are made, they are frequently overridden in favour of corporate strategy. In Thompson's phrase (2003), this form "disconnected capitalism" and constant upheaval makes it almost very difficult for employers to keep their side of the employment bargain.
So what are the alternatives? Trade unions in the private sector need a clear story of opposition to contemporary capitalism. To develop this as an effective mobilisation against the interest of capital, they need to do far more than they have been to engage a wide group of workers and citizens in those visions for an alternative. In other words, they need to organise more effectively.
To do this, unions need to tell a clear story about the problems that hyper-financialised capitalism presents to society and to individuals. Unions need to highlight the injustices that result with in workplaces and beyond. They need to use these injustices to build collective responses and to develop alternatives. Unions have done this before and although no-one would argue that opposition is easy, it is necessary and possible.
Reference:
Thompson, P. (2003) ‘Disconnected capitalism: or why employers can’t keep their side of the bargain’. Work, Employment and Society. 17 (2) pp 359-378.
