UK Unionism Needs Restructuring

For the past couple of weeks I've observed the Grangemouth Ineos vs Unite dispute from the sidelines.  The left-wing press had a few field days painting Jim Ratcliffe - the owner of Ineos - as a villain and blackmailer while other media used less pejorative language.

During my research for this post I stumbled over this article From Iain MacWhirter and found it to be a fair assessment of the most serious Scottish industrial dispute in years.

As a sympathetic observer of the desperate events, the people I admired were the workers who saved the day by effectively sacking their local union leaders. Iain MacWhirter is correct when he says: 'Some Labour people might have been content to see the plant close, the better to damage Salmond'.  That is true. 

To substantiate my remark let me tell you about a conversation I had with a fellow bridge player this week.  His usual cheery personality was subdued and when I enquired if all was well with him he immediately launched a rant about Unite. I'm paraphrasing: "Stupid union leaders with their own personal agendas. They have no interest in their members wellbeing or futures.  I'm shocked at the behaviour of the 'leverage team'. How can any responsible union invade the privacy of company directors?"  Charlie spoke more throughout my contact with him during the evening and eventually I said he must be a Tory-voting unionist.

His reply astonished me. "I was a senior Unite official for many years until I retired in 2006. During all my years with the Union I believed that respectful and courteous negotiation with management was by far the best way in which to air my members' grievances.

In the latter years of my service, I was aware a hardcore of unsuitable people had risen through the ranks and their agendas would become clear in time. The handling of the Grangemouth dispute is a serious stain on the reputation of 'my' Union and 'my' Labour party is no longer fit for purpose."

Jokingly I suggested he'll now be voting for an independent Scotland and the SNP. "Too right I will," was the reply. "I'm never been a fan of Alex Salmond, but I've watched his actions in this closely and I've been forced to accept his political skills are far above any in the Labour party."

If a retired, senior ex-Unite official is so distraught by his Union colleagues behaviour, what will be the future of Unionism in Scotland?

Maybe a trip to Germany would be helpful. German Unions have protected both German industries and their workforces whilst UK Unions continue to do the opposite. Could it be that they use Charlie’s philosophy of respect and courtesy instead of personal ambition which can lead to corrupt behaviour?

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BA and Unite - The Story Extends Abroad

This worries me. What are Unite up to? This is becoming far more than an employer/employee dispute if Unite are involving international unions.

Perhaps it's just that Charlie Whelan is determined to destroy British Airways. Maybe I'm becoming paranoid but it seems sinister this move.

Union supporters will say this is normal. I disagree. This dispute is between the workers of a British company and their British employer.

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Unions Intend to Seize Control of Labour

Bullying unions bosses have launched a £75 million plot to seize control of the Labour party. The giant super-union UNITE, which handed the party £2.7m in the past year, is at the heart of the resurgence.

Union activists have drawn up a five-year plan to storm back to the centre stage of politics after 25 years in the wilderness.

An insider gloated: "We hold all the aces. Brown needs our money to fight what will be a massively expensive campaign. But whoever gets into No 10, there will only be one real winner - the trade union movement."

Cash from wealthy private donors has dried up, leaving Labour no option but to hold out the begging bowl. In 1997 only 40p in the pound of the party's funding came from the unions. Now it's almost double that.

Unite is now pumping huge sums into a 'key seat' strategy to bolster Labour candidates in marginals and to counter the thousands being poured in by billionaire tory donor Lord Ashcroft.

Meanwhile George Osborne has held 'routine' talks with TUC boss Brendan Barber. Simpson (Unite) has made it clear they are in no mood to join this dialogue with the Tories.

It can't be much of a surprise to many that the Unions are pulling the strings of the Labour party these days. I can only hope David Cameron, should the tories win the election, has a strategy to counteract their plans.

source

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Labour and Unite Union let Diageo off the Hook

Some months ago I wrote about the distiller Diageo and their tactic of using loopholes in the UK system.

Today the Scotsman and the BBC are running articles about Alex Salmond 'snubbing' the chief executive Paul Walsh. It appears Mr Salmond's office requested an urgent meeting with Mr Walsh to discuss the crisis at Diageo's Kilmarnock plant. Mr Salmond was due to appear on the Daily Politics show on BBC2 yesterday and he was already in a London BBC studio when he was offered a meeting.

Mr Salmond decided to send Mr Robertson, the SNP's leader at Westminster, to the meeting. Mr Robertson, who has many whisky interests in his Moray constituency, described the discussions with Diageo as "constructive."

However, as Leaves on the Line (welcome back) writes, Iain Gray of labour and the Unite union have now decided to turn this serious issue into a political football by insisting the First Minister should have attended, thereby diverting the crisis from Diageo to Mr Salmond. Do they really think this is a smart move? Of course the Scotsman and BBC have aided and abetted them to the best of their abilities, although the Scotsman article reads far more like a labour press release than the BBC report.

I do hope the media return to subject - that is Diageo's plans at the Johnny Walker plant in Kilmarnock where 700 jobs are involved, plus 200 in Glasgow.

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