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MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

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Moral rules and trade union principles<br />

Positive statements are made about developing lay members:-<br />

My role there is quite different because again it is more about<br />

coaching and supporting the members of the committee have go<br />

out there and do the work because I can't interface with the<br />

employer. So it's a coaching role with them, if you like.<br />

(Interviewee H)<br />

Also about enhancing the democratic process by the use of information<br />

and communications technology:-<br />

I can get a better debate on an online basis, with more<br />

contributions, I get a more measured debate. I told them<br />

yesterday, they didn't realise that they had had an extensive<br />

debate about one particular conference course that we run and<br />

should we accept, when the NEC has said you can only have 30<br />

people on this conference course and we have 43 applicants,<br />

how do we split those down to 30, was the debate. So it went<br />

on for a long time and it went on electronically and you got every<br />

possible view and slice of what these people should represent,<br />

coming to conference; should it be one per section or should it<br />

be based on activity before and what we view as potential<br />

activity after. (Interviewee G)<br />

And also about the value of the various representative channels to<br />

ascertain members’ views:-<br />

Essentially I am in a unique position in basically knowing, or<br />

supposedly knowing, what the members are thinking, what the<br />

union's internal democracy is thinking and how we're actually<br />

going to execute it on the ground and then also directing the<br />

office to do that. So if you imagine those communication<br />

channels, they are three communication channels but they flow<br />

back the other way as well. So, no, I don't have a conflict, I don't<br />

see a particular conflict in that. I actually believe that I am able<br />

to do my job a lot better. I am able to do my job because I have<br />

those three areas of responsibility. So I can have, if you like, an<br />

overview of what is happening elsewhere because my officers<br />

tell me and I have to direct them on certain issues. Obviously I<br />

need to know what the members are thinking because I'm going<br />

to be advocating their stance to the employer. And then<br />

obviously also managing the overall relationship between the<br />

employer and trade union because obviously what we are<br />

thinking and what they are thinking can be some way apart on<br />

occasions. (Interviewee L)<br />

For almost every manager in UNiFI, relationships with elected<br />

members have changed since the merger that created the union. It is<br />

not surprising that there are differing views of that experience. But the<br />

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