Dave Statham reviews Struck Out; why employment tribunals fail workers and what can be done, by David Renton, published by Pluto Press, £19.99 (paperback).

David Renton is a barrister specialising in employment law, so it is no surprise that he has written a book which dissects the work of employment tribunals and their failings.

He traces the origins of tribunals and explains why many of the current weaknesses stem from the very way in which they were first constructed.  He explains that the original impetus was largely to do with preventing unofficial strikes. It might be argued that the failings of tribunals which Renton details are themselves partly responsible for the upturn in unofficial action which we have seen recently, such as the sparks’ dispute.

His main thesis is that employment tribunals have manifestly failed to deliver any real justice for workers and have, in fact, led to unions becoming obsessed with the tribunal route – with the result that collective action has been neglected.

He sets out the marked failure of employment tribunals to deal with the injustices which are brought before them.  He cites a multitude of facts: just one is that of the 40,000 plus unfair dismissal cases in 2010-11, only eight resulted in orders reinstating or re-engaging the claimant.  If collective action resulted in such a pathetic level of success we would question its usefulness.

Renton demonstrates that the reason tribunals do not deliver justice is because of the very basis on which they are constructed.  The roots of the tribunal system are intertwined with common law which still looks at employment from the master and servant perspective.

Even before the attack on tribunals by the Con-Dems the system was rigged in favour of the employers.  With the changes now being brought in, tribunals will be a very expensive way for workers to fail to achieve justice.  If unions continue to pursue the tribunal route they will both waste their members’ money and fail to achieve any substantial success.

Renton sets out in some detail the choices between litigation and bargaining, with examples from the pursuit of equal pay.  Those with long memories will recall that the fight for equal pay began with strike action. While the Equal Pay Act was a step forward, the contribution of tribunals to taking the fight forward has been limited.

Renton also examines why so few race cases are won in tribunals: while three quarters of wage claims are won, only one in six race cases succeed.  After examining a number of seminal cases he concludes that the judgers who hear employment cases have a tendency to look for “common sense” markers that a particular witness is or is not telling the truth.  He regards this tendency to disbelief to be central to the failure of most race cases at tribunals.

Renton looks at human rights decisions in tribunals and the attempt to develop a human rights sensitive culture of decision making.  He quotes a number of cases where the Human Rights Act has been used to assist trade unionists to defend the right to organise.  However, in general he concludes that tribunals have been of limited use.  He concludes that a tribunal claimant winning because of the Human Rights Act is rare indeed.

In a fascinating chapter on unions and the law he looks at unions and the funding of tribunal claims.  In a table setting out unions and legal funds per member he demonstrates what a dramatic effect the Con-Dems attack on tribunals (by increasing charges) will have.  The highest figure he finds is £11.14 per member.  The charges now being imposed by tribunals mean that unions will not be able to fund cases for more than a handful of members, and the knock-on effect of cases not being supported because of costs will dramatically affect the ability of workplace reps to pursue potential cases.

All in all this is a fascinating book and one that anyone with an interest in employment law would do well to read.

Martin Mayer, Chair of United Left and a Unite delegate on Labour’s NEC, reports that Unite is taking on a political role.

Imagine it’s 2015, just before the next General Election. Labour’s new manifesto backs free trade unions and strong workers’ rights. Trade unions are a force for good, it says, giving working people a voice and ensuring justice and equality in the workplace. They play a vital role in regulating wages through collective bargaining. With barely a quarter of workers currently covered by collective agreements, it’s no wonder Britain today is the most unequal society in Europe – and that must change.

Labour slams massive cuts in public funding to our public services and the mad race to privatise what’s left. A decent civilised society needs high quality, accountable public services like health, education and public transport under public ownership and control. Privatisation has been a costly failure and puts private greed before public need. The welfare state was an historic achievement of the Labour Party and we will rebuild one to be proud of.

Labour rejects the politics of austerity which has made working people pay for the crisis whilst the rich and powerful get off scott free. Yet austerity has failed to reduce the deficit. Labour now offers hope rather than despair, a better world rather than success for the 1% and misery for the 99%. We will start by addressing the missing tax billions, estimated at over £100 billion in tax that is evaded, avoided or simply uncollected each year. We will use the public sector as the motor for recovery, getting our economy back on its feet and creating rather than destroying jobs.

Labour will embark on a massive council house building programme, addressing the shocking housing crisis in 21st century Britain. Pound for pound this is the best use of public funds to stimulate the private sector economy, creating jobs in construction, building materials, household goods and furnishings. We will create a million climate change jobs, addressing properly and responsibly that other crisis – the environment. We will invest in renewable energy, insulation, and a much needed expansion in public transport. We will build a better, safer, cleaner and more prosperous Britain for working people.

Is this a pipedream? Policies such as these are supported by the British trade union movement and endorsed by the TUC Congress which represents seven million trade union members. Working people are crying out for an inspiring lead from Labour and would respond in their droves if they heard a message which was addressing their needs. The alternative is that the estimated five million working class voters who failed to vote Labour in the last election, disenchanted and turned off politics, will only increase in number. We cannot allow ourselves to sleepwalk into another electoral defeat.

Can the trade unions change the Labour Party? Have they the will or the capacity to do so?  It is a huge challenge, but Unite, Britain’s largest Trade Union, has recently decided it is prepared to have a go. Unite’s Executive Council has unanimously backed a bold new political strategy to rebuild our base in the Party from the bottom upwards.

We will mobilise our shop stewards and activists to rejoin Labour and take active roles in CLPs up and down the country. This will not just be the usual vague appeal to join a party which many of our members have lost faith in. We will have organisers in the regions, materials and back up – and joined up thinking like political education and network support.

Our new Labour Party members will feel they are part of an important movement to change the Party and change Britain. We will identify our best and most committed trade unionists to stand for selection as Labour Party candidates and work as never before to build support in constituencies to get them selected. We will ensure our CLP activists, Policy Forum members and NEC delegates are united and working together for a clear set of aims, and supported by a union which is determined to make a difference to the politics of this country.

There’s one last thing. We have just launched the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS), a new left policy think tank, which is attracting support from other unions and some of the best left academics and economists, eager to fill a desperate gap in left policy development in British politics.
Unite’s Political Strategy is a bold one. Will it work? The honest answer is that we don’t know – but we’ll try. We’re prepared to have a go because we think it is vital for our members’ future that we succeed.

Val Graham, Chesterfield Trades Council and CLP, reports on the 82nd TUC Women’s Conference.

A week before the “granny bashing” budget, women took over Congress House for almost three days of debate and fringe and social activity. The Conference attracted 300 delegates from unions and observers from Regional and Trades Councils (including myself from Chesterfield). I last attended conference over 30 years ago and my memory is not as advanced as my age, but I did note the increased representation of black women, lesbians and transgender women. Young women too were up front, and they stressed the impact of websites like UK Feminista on a new generation of activists.

We were all WAGs – Women Against George, Cam and Theresa – so I should not have been surprised at the unanimity round the motions for debate. It was not so harmonious when New Labour governed. Despite the desire for a united front against the Con Dems, some delegates did voice their frustration at Brendan Barber and at Labour over their lack of action on pensions, public sector pay and privatisation. Women from the unions still fighting the pensions war were very upbeat, while others tried to gloss over their unions’ surrender.

The motion favoured for TUC Conference in the autumn condemns the Government’s attacks on jobs, pay, pensions and public services which impact hardest on low paid women workers and their families. It deplores the cuts by local authorities to funding of lifesaving help such as rape crisis centres and refuges – to the point where many are closing or drastically reducing their services. It also criticises plans to close the Equality and Human Rights Commission programme which distributes grants to hundreds of community groups tackling discrimination.

Moved by PCS, the popularity of this motion is to be welcomed as it calls for a commitment to oppose all the cuts and to argue forcefully for an alternative, including forcing the rich to pay their taxes. Winning and holding the unions collectively to campaign on a political and economic alternative to austerity is vital. Socialist women and men should also be making sure this policy is prioritised for debate at Labour Party Conference. To date the affiliated unions have soft pedalled on a very key divide with the Labour leadership.

The whole issue of women’s safety was very much to the fore. There was a panel discussion on “Every woman safe everywhere” which covered risk factors such as domestic violence; threats to safe abortion services; cuts in benefits, social care provision and pensions; cuts in public transport, lighting and health; and safety at work. A blind sister from the Musicians Union spoke about her fears around the removal of staff from railway stations and trains.

Despite MPs rejecting plans put to them by Nadine Dorries to change the abortion counselling system, the Department of Health plans to press ahead with a public consultation on the same proposals. Unite delegates called for urgent action to ensure no barriers to abortion services or to medically accurate, non-judgemental information about termination. The forthcoming consultation is something readers should not miss and it illustrates the contempt the Blue and Yellow Tories have, not only for the electorate they have conned, but for Parliament as well.

Reports received included Women’s Pay and Employment – a public/private sector comparison, and Women’s Representation in Union Structures. The gender pay gap has hardly decreased because most women work part-time, and part-time earnings did not improve as much as those of full-time women workers. The pay gap is significantly lower in the public sector for full and part time women workers because the lowest paid jobs in the public sector are better paid, on average by almost a third. The Con Dems intend to undo this and the latest labour market statistics confirm that the loss of public sector jobs has pushed female unemployment figures to a 17 year high with worse to come.

Women have fared somewhat better in the unions over a four year period, with women taking a more active role as officers but still being proportionally under-represented at union conferences, TUC and Executive level. It is a step forward that there are now several unions with a female General Secretary – which brings me to my conference highlights.

The very warm reception given to the unions who have led the pensions campaign and are still taking action was an important indicator of the mood on the floor. Conference also applauded the predominantly Goan female hospital worker members of the GMB taking strike action against racist bullying in Swindon. The Chair of Conference sent a public message of support to the strikers and the POA delegation to the conference pledged £500 to the strike fund.

We applauded a short video of Colombian trade unionist Liliany Obando, released from prison as a result of international trade union solidarity, and many were cheered by a brilliant contribution from workers’ rights expert Carolyn Jones, who urged us to take a Greek-style revolt against the Con Dems’ assault on women. She put it starkly: that women and men had to take action on an unprecedented scale to fight the tsunami of cuts which will turn back time on women’s rights. We cannot afford talking shops and our gatherings must be springboards for united action against austerity in its theory and practice. Women can lead the way, as we have over pensions, because we have most to lose!

Simon Deville, Birkbeck UNISON Branch Secretary, reports in a personal capacity: While strike action in defence of pensions last November has been a massive boost to trade union membership and activism, most union leaderships have been reluctant to continue any action. The UNISON leadership has led the retreat, ensuring that no action over the Local Government Pension Scheme could be co-ordinated with other workers. Undermining the cross-trade union and cross-pension scheme unity has given those leaderships that are fighting for a better settlement an uphill struggle.

Within the NHS pension scheme the struggle continues, with Unite planning strike action for its 100,000 health service workers on 10th May. PCS was the first to call its members out alongside them. PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka was central to building the cross union unity in support of November’s action. Many union leaders were embarrassed into supporting that action for fear of losing members to rival unions if their own union was seen to be giving up the fight over pensions. The united action then made it all the more difficult to continue action after the larger unions started to pull out, so it is to PCS’s credit that they are planning further action.

The college lecturer’s union UCU is also planning action on 10th May. Other unions may still join in – most notably the NUT, which has decided that individual regions can take action if they think it is viable. As we go to press, UNISON is balloting health service members over their pensions, with the ballot closing on 27th April.

As planning for 10th May was taking place, representatives of 1,200 tanker drivers voted on 18th April to reject the latest offer in their dispute with the oil distribution companies around the errosion of safety standards. The Government is not an impartial observer. Aside from condemning any talk of action and giving ill-thought out advice about stockpiling petrol at home, the Government has a broader agenda of weakening health and safety legislation that might protect workers in dangerous jobs.The more the Government removes legal protection for workers, the more likely workers will feel that they have no option but to take strike action to improve health and safety.

For most rank and file members it is obvious why the various pension scheme proposals should be fought together – and co-ordinated with a dispute by private sector workers who can cause huge disruption. Unfortunately much of the current leadership of the unions involved in pension disputes is of the generation schooled in avoiding action and relying on their own supposed negotiating skills to deliver on behalf of a passive membership.

Building a trade union movement that can adequately take on the austerity offensive will require a complete transformation from the conservatism that has dominated most of the major unions for the last generation. We must all mobilise around 10th May as the first step in developing the kind of movement we need.