Trade union responses to civil service restructuring : organising in the Public and Commercial Services union

• Main Author: Hodder, Andrew John
• Published: Keele University 2013
• Subjects: 331.88
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.602977

This thesis explores the adoption of the organising model of union renewal by the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) in response to membership decline and civil service restructuring. The neoliberal stance of successive UK Governments, together with the continuing decline of union influence and membership, have led unions to reassess their organisational and recruitment strategies. The growth in union renewal has seen many unions adopt both organising and partnership approaches since the formal re-launch of the TUC in 1994 (Heery, 1998). Despite organising now being a well-established tactic deployed by many unions, evaluating its effectiveness is problematic and requires further detailed research which transcends the extent to which organising fits the organising model. The central aim of this research is to: situate debates around union organising in a wider historical and political context; systematically examine the issues of structure and action in relation to union organising and union purpose; and provide a more holistic overview of one union's approach to organising by examining organising across different (horizontal and vertical) levels of union activity in a recognised environment. Hyman's (1994) model of internal union dynamics was adopted as a framework to examine the extent to which organising has been embedded in the structures of the PCS and the work of Simms (2007a) and Martinez Lucio and Stuart (2005) were applied where appropriate. The research findings extend and challenge the existing literature on union renewal with two case studies illustrating that different sections of the same union can be expected to engage with the organising agenda to varying degrees. This is dependent on the perceived purpose of the union amongst representatives, as well as structural factors such as the employer's organisation of services and employment, the union's own internal structures, and crucially bargaining locus and scope.