Edmund Heery

DO FEMALE REPRESENTATIVES MAKE A DIFFERENCE? WOMEN FULL-TIME OFFICIALS AND TRADE UNION WORK

The article presents information on the extent and distribution of womens employment in full-time officer posts within British trade unions, and on the priorities and objectives of those ten per cent of full-time bargainers in the British labour movement who are women. The main concern of the article is to establish whether the presence of women in representative positions in trade unions `makes a difference. It has been alleged by a number of commentators that British unions are neglectful of the separate interests of women workers in large part because women are absent from positions of power with the trade union hierarchy. The prescription for reform which usually follows such an analysis is that there should be a `feminising of trade union government and administration in order to facilitate the expression of womens concerns and needs within trade union activities. This article attempts to assess the validity of this belief by examining whether those women who have achieved positions of influence within unions are committed to using their position to redirect trade union work towards a fuller engagement with `womens issues. Specifically, it is concerned to establish whether women full-time officials are more likely than their male counterparts to give high priority to womens needs in collective bargaining and to the recruitment and organisation of women workers.

Full-time Officers and the Shop Steward Network: Patterns of Co-operation and Interdependence

Full-time trade union officers (FTOs) service trade union members in two main ways. First, they act as a representative of individual employees, either assuming the role of advocate within company grievance and disciplinary procedures and in industrial tribunals or of adviser on a wide range of subjects including employment law, pensions and social security. Secondly, they act as a representative of collectivities, bargaining on behalf of groups of union members and building and supporting union organization. This second activity in most British contexts is performed in conjunction with a network of lay branch officials and shop stewards. It is the steward network which relays member aspirations to the FTO before bargaining commences, keeps members informed of the progress and results of bargaining and holds the FTO to account. Similarly, the organizational work of FTOs focuses on this group and principally involves maintaining an adequate supply of trained and capable activists to administer union branches and serve as shop stewards within the workplace. The FTO typically operates alongside and through such activists, and building the union, in very large part, means building and maintaining the shop steward network.