I heart my union

In Part 5 of our Heart Unions series, we speak to an engineer who knows that it’s not just workers who heart unions – businesses do, too.

 
The present government has styled trade unions as “the enemy within”, most recently evidenced in their trade union Bill.

 
They contend that trade unions are always at odds with business, but even the business community understands the power unions have to enhance productivity and keep the wheels of industry turning when relations are good.

 
Unite rep and engineer for United Biscuits Matt Gould explains how his workplace is a perfect example of unions working with management to foster a happy and productive workforce.
But it was not always this way, he notes.

 
“About five months ago, relations between the workforce and management at our McVities factory in Manchester reached a low point,” he said. “At the time, bosses had introduced performance management and they saw unions as something that had to be defeated – they were constantly reacting to us instead of working with us.”

 
“Management had criticised what they saw as ‘bad behaviours’ from workers. It got so bad that at one point, the previous manager sent several workers letters saying that if these so-called ‘bad behaviours’ didn’t change, they would sack us.”

 
“That’s when we took action. We held a strike ballot and the result was overwhelming – there was a return of 98 per cent in favour on a 100 per cent turnout.”

 
That, Gould explained, is when upper management woke up and realised that there was something deeply wrong with what was going on at the factory.

 
“Before the strike ballot, management just thought that it was a few shop stewards who were causing trouble. But when they saw the ballot result, they woke up.”

 
The factory general manager was removed from his position, and the HR and manufacturing managers immediately came to the table to work with the unions.

 
“They sat down with us and asked us what they need to do to improve working conditions,” Gould noted. “That’s when we hired a trade union consultancy to do an analysis of the workplace and how management is run. The consultancy made recommendations which were subsequently implemented.”

 
“Management then realised that what was previously classified as ‘bad behaviours’ was rooted in poor working conditions.”

 
Among the various concessions the workers won from management after the strike ballot was a total pay rise of nearly ÂŁ7000 by Jan 2017.

 
“Now it’s like walking into a completely new factory – people are happy and relations are great,” he said.
“It was really gratifying to see management have a total change of perspective on us,” he added. “Now they see us not as a problem but as a part of the solution.”

 
In fact, relations have improved so dramatically that engineers at the factory volunteered to help repair damage to the McVities factory after floods from Storm Desmond devastated the north of England.

 
“The gesture was greeted very positively from senior management and we now have a team of engineers and two engineering apprentices from Manchester assisting with the rebuild,” Gould noted.

 
Unite Biscuits group supply chain director John Titmuss explained that positive industrial relations has led to an improved business.

 
“United Biscuits believes in having a positive and constructive relationship with our trade union partners,” he said. “Over recent years we have worked very closely with the trade unions to ensure that we have competitive and flexible working practices that both drive productivity and ensure that we can retain and grow quality jobs in the UK food industry. This has required robust and honest engagement and a willingness on all sides to work together.”

 
Gould argued that his experience demonstrates why the trade union Bill is completely unnecessary.

 
“The Bill is nothing but ideology – it’s not supportive of businesses at all,” he explained. “I’ve spoken to directors and people in senior management and they see nothing in the Bill that’s pro-business.”

 
“It’s a very small minority of people who are pushing this Bill forward. Even Tory MP David Davis has strong words against the Bill. That’s when you realise that the legislation is nothing but a shrouded attack on direct democracy.”