Employment relations expert says unions need to restore trust and adapt to the changing future of workmployment relations expert
Employment relations expert says unions need to restore trust and adapt to the changing future of workDwindling memberships, inter-union rivalry and radical changes in the nature of work could render trade unions irrelevant, and Workers’ Day will allow them to reflect on their significance.
“With the younger, post-1994 generation of workers not convinced of the value of union membership, and older members losing trust in unions, Workers’ Day on May 1 is an apt time to consider how trade unions can ensure they remain relevant and adapt to the changing future of work,” said Cillié. “Trade unions are recruiting members from the same pool and losing members to rival unions in the same sector. They need to look beyond the existing pool of workers and consider how to organise unorganised employees as well as looking to appeal to younger workers,” he said.“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of the informal sector to the livelihoods of many South Africans — there is an organising opportunity there for trade unions to represent and protect these workers.
“The question that arises for ordinary workers is: why should they belong to a trade union and pay their subscriptions when they are failed by their union? Unions have become bureaucracies in which officials lack accountability to their members,” Cillié said. However, the danger was that alternative forms of worker participation, led by management, would replace unions. And while workers would still be protected by labour laws, the power of collective bargaining and collective action would be lost.
Cillié proposed that unions “urgently embark on the path to revitalisation” by listening to the needs of a new generation of workers, embracing technology and considering new forms of organising and collective action.