Bargaining, representation and organising in the Pandemic: Experience from the Financial Services Union

Abstract

20 | International Union Rights | 28/2 FOCUS | A CHANGING POST-PANDEMIC WORLD FOR LABOUR Bargaining, representation and organising in the Pandemic: Experience from the Financial Services Union The global pandemic presents many new problems to trade unionism. Social distancing and home working, for example, introduce real challenges to union organisation rooted in the physical workplace. Moreover, while online communication platforms were the natural response for many organisations, it is unclear whether the fundamentals of trade unionism - building collective identity, collective organising and collective action - are conducive to online dynamics. Unions are not known hotbeds of technological adoption. The face-to-face meeting, a word in the ear of a relevant party, collective meetings with members and - where called for public demonstrations, are the stock-in-trade of what unions do. Union negotiators need to ‘read the room’, make eye contact and watch body language to be effective negotiators. Likewise, union organisers in recruiting and developing new members need to build rapport and establish trust and confidence, best achieved by face-to-face, interpersonal contact. Although societies are making meaningful advances in the return to some pre-pandemic normalcy in 2021 and beyond, much remains uncertain. Reliance upon online communication platforms may, by necessity, retain their importance. To that end, it is helpful to reflect on the shift to online unionism amid the pandemic, considering what worked and what did not, what to retain even if social distancing recedes and what might present on-going obstacles to navigate where it persists. As part of this effort, we offer insights from the Financial Services Union (FSU), a union representing staff in the financial services sector in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain, with approximately 15,000 members. Almost overnight in March 2020, FSU, like so many others, turned from a union based in offices and workplaces to a virtual union operating online and remotely. Below we look at how FSU dealt with the challenge of shifting operations online and reflect on the experience of bargaining, engaging the membership and organising new members. Becoming an online union All trade unionists will testify 2020 brought some unique challenges for representatives and members. Ensuring that the turn to home working was mindful of childcare difficulties, supports for selfisolation , maintaining socially distant workplaces with adequate ventilation and cleaning facilities sat alongside more familiar issues like pay bargaining and job protection measures. Representatives in FSU, as elsewhere, had to tackle these issues headon , albeit remotely, while simultaneously adjusting to a new environment of engaging with employers online via new technology. Compounding these challenges was the need to coordinate and respond to the needs of a now dispersed membership: some working from home, others on-site in highly controlled environments. Thankfully, the union had - by pure luck- in 2019 and early 2020 upgraded its phone systems and internal software packages, including adding Microsoft Teams and installing VPN’s (virtual private network) software to facilitate remote network access. Consequently, only a small number of laptops and upgrades were required to support all staff and officers working from home. There was minimal disruption to the union’s day-to-day operations as a result, and the union quite quickly adapted to the technical requirements of going online. However, having the hardware and software available does not necessarily mean everyone can and will use it. The union utilised its online education platform (https://unionlink.org/) to develop Microsoft Teams training modules. Here, staff and officers worked in virtual groups to complete training modules involving individual and teamwork exercises. Notably, the prospect of remote working within FSU impelled greater urgency in taking steps to deepen staff interactions in compensation for the loss of in-person dynamics. Officers instituted more team and all-staff meetings than previously done in person in the office – which was often not possible when staff were engaged in different activities on sites or in representations with employers, civil servants or politicians. The industrial relations team began meeting twice a week, with specific communications meetings at the end of the week, while the organising team began meeting once a week. In part, the union’s General Secretary drove this change, moving the focus away from longer-term work plans...