Reflections on Unionism in HE

The NTESU National President recently responded to the news that one of the Branches of the NTESU was planning to disband. This is an interesting note on the environment in which unionists in higher education in this country exist because its not the first institutional representation which has met this attitude from the employer.

There are several branches which have experienced the claim from their institutions that one cannot organise without being sufficiently representative. This is an interpretation of the LRA and is essentially not correct. The right to organise is enshrined in the Act, employers who then say that the union cannot meet can only do so on the basis that meetings cannot take place during working hours. So, what's wrong with lunch time. Those employers who will not allow the use of venues are simply obstructive. These are rights that one has to argue for and engage employers over.

Interestingly, in some of these institutions, it has been other unions which appear to have colluded with employers to keep the NTESU out of reprentational consultations. This is a "sad note" on turf-centered thinking and certainly creates devisions within the Labour movement which are not constructive. Our law unfortunately runs on majoritarianist principles and that means that local recruitment is essential and this is not easy work, requires commitment from the same people who fought for our freedoms in the past.

Higher Education employers are not not known for their co-determinative approach and they are generally highly resistant to academic and administrative staff unionising. This includes intimidation of staff into not joining unions. Its a bizarre aspect of institutional life when we all understand academia to be free-thinking institutions not draconian top-down zones. Unfortunately, the very institutions which one would expect to embrace co-determination, freedom of association and other human and labour rights are the one's that resist and deny these the most. Employers claim they are collegial with the academic community - this is a big myth.

Here are the NTESU National President's comments extracted and edited from an email.

It is unfortunate that our attempts to contact and meet with the Branch Executive were met with no response. Being a unionist is 'not a bed of roses' - especially when fighting for the rights of others and in a sector that is slowly becoming aware about the concept of unionism and have tended up to the recent past to 'hide their head in the sand'. This is not only at ---, but also at almost every HEI. Unionism is hard work with rarely any recognition, an arena of battles and simutaneously educating our very people - this is also compounded by the type of Managers we are also dealing with; and the social/global competitive environment we are all facing. We cannot 'throw our hands in the air and wait for others to save us', nor can we fall into apathy as 'students' are presently in, nor turn our faces the other way, nor throw in the towel.

I undersand where you are coming from......pioneering is never easy...... I have been insulted, ridiculed, threaten by management, had my salary stopped by a VC, given a DC letter with allegations of sabotage, thought I was losing it mentally.......... and even been shot. WHY DO I STILL CONTINUE? I believe in human freedom, free from suppression and oppression. I believe that by awaking our people in HEIs beyond 'bread and butter issues' we will contribute to our country. I think it is not going to get any easier. I believe that there is a purpose in who we are, what we are and what we have to do.

Its interesting to look at the comments which came from the Branch. Because, there are other institutional representatives in HEIs who have given the same comment. Here is an edited version. There is clear frustration with Management here.

The Branch listed these, but not limited to these, issues :

The Branch not being recognised as per the institution's threshold and substantive representation;

(COMMENT the Union is registered, not the Branch, and the employer cannot refuse to recognise it and its branches. however, it can demand a level of representation before consulting and / or negotiating with the Union - it is the job of local recruiters to see to this growth.)

The non-participation of the Branch has meant that the members voice had no platform.

(COMMENT as mentioned above our law is majoritatian in nature but this can be worked around by defining the workplace and hence creating a representational group. This has been done in at least two campuses where recognition agreements have led to more flexible cooperative agreements with managements - (Rhodes and WSU).

The Branch's failure to arrange an affordable funeral scheme.

(COMMENT the first priority of a union is the labour rights of its members, benefits such as these are nice to haves and require the members to pay very high union dues or at least that the union has very many members. Members have to acknowledge that a union is not a consumer organisation but given numbers can facilitate consumer based benefits.)

Management barrs NTESU from holding meetings during working hours.

(COMMENT the employer is entitled to do this, at least until a recognition agreement clause comes into action and changes that. Two things make Branchs grow vigorous recruitment, and, the decisions of management which is often the best recruiter of members for a union.)

Frustrated by a lack of communication with our constituency which now feels the Union is somehow a fly by night scheme.

(COMMENT if the employer is restricting communication then this is refusal of a basic organisational right. There are several basic organisational rights which the employer must afford to the union regardless of representativeness. Communication with members and potential members is one of these.)