Trade unions at the crossroads

Peter Fairbrother, Mansell, 365 pages, hardback, £60.00

The author suggests that trade unions are at a watershed in their history. After a decade of restructuring, the movement is beginning to renew itself in distinctive and imaginative ways. While national organisation retains its importance, the author argues that the process of renewal must be founded on the active participation of trade unionists in the workplace.

This book reports on the extensive research carried out in manufacturing, the utilities and the public sector in the West Midlands, focusing on 24 union groups distributed equally between the three sectors. They covered social security (the Benefits Agency), the Inland Revenue and local government social services in the public sector; water, gas and telecommunications within the utilities sector; and heating components, car parts, electronic components and telecommunications in manufacturing. Ten different unions were included.

This research resulted in valuable information which is clearly set out in the book and is essential for working out an effective strategy of renewal. If unions do not develop such a strategy they face the danger of a type of business unionism where the preoccupations of members are likely to be narrowly sectional. Alternatively there is the prospect of laying the foundations for challenging and participational forms of trade unionism.