MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

Deploying resources
that we had to overcome in the first instance and then in
succeeding years. (Interviewee M)
And in all three regions in respect of which data was gathered, there
was a policy of mixing staff from the old unions to achieve cultural
integration.
Very early on I did a bit of shifting around -- a bit uncomfortable
for people -- I moved people around. Perth was the COHSE
office, Edinburgh for NUPE and here for NALGO and I moved
people around so that I put officers from here in Perth and
Edinburgh and brought some others in here. I mean, it was a bit
contrived, if you like, but it was to break that down. (Interviewee
K)
One of the things that I did from day one when I got the Regional
Secretary's job, was to move from Sherwood Rise to Castle
Gate, not because I wanted to shop at Boots next-door but
because politically that was important and within months to start
the engagement of moving staff between the two buildings
(Interviewee M)
We did have a policy of mixing people from former partner
unions in terms of allocating people, although we didn't have the
teams then. It was more around service groups that there was a
definite decision to try and get mixtures of people and also to get
people to do work that was sort of counter cultural -- say some
of the COHSE people who only had a Health Service
involvement to actually go out into Local Government.
(Interviewee O)
In London, staff were centralised into the old NALGO building, which
was not one that was admired to any great extent:-
We do of course blame NALGO for it but I don't think we think,
oh God, this is the sort of place NALGO would like to work. It's
dreadful. We might have done at the beginning. Probably did at
the beginning. Because ironically, I know Woolwich was way out
in wu wu land but it was actually quite a nice working
environment and it did have a much flatter structure. You know,
the departments mixed a lot more and you had much more of
the sort of healthy working environment where people went in
and out of each other's offices and bumped into each other in
the canteen which was massively used, whereas it doesn't
happen here. You know, you look at the other union mergers
and you think, oh no, they are making exactly the same
mistakes that we made in not forcing people to come together.
(Interviewee J)
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