Unions need to change mindsets, Siptu leader claims

Trade unions need to debunk the idea that they exist to provide a voice against management, Siptu president Jack O'Connor has said.

Mr O’Connor said that unions should instead recognise that taking an active role in increasing productivity and innovation will help secure the jobs of their members.

Speaking at The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival in Cork, Mr O'Connor said the belief that unions exist only to confront the management in businesses and institutions was flawed thinking.

“We must be at the forefront of the thrust to enhance productivity and innovation, instead of getting in the way of it as we sometimes do.

“The fact of the matter is the security and quality of our members’ employment is dependent on the prosperity of the enterprises in which they work.

“Moreover, the key to good working conditions and indeed standards of living generally is exponentially increasing productivity.

“I emphasise, because it will undoubtedly be misrepresented, that this is not about increasing the drudgery or onerousness of work. Actually, it is the opposite.”

Challenges

In an address entitled A Trade Union Strategy to Win for Working People, Mr O'Connor said the Irish trade union movement needs to assert that it has the capacity to meet modern day challenges and deliver for working people.

He acknowledged that the balance had shifted dramatically against organised workers and in favour of capital over the past 25 years, due to a complex interaction of global factors.

He said working people will continue to organise to fight for better pay and conditions when they believe they can win improvements or when they feel they have no alternative.