Robert Perrett

Trade unions and relations with black and minority-ethnic community groups in the United Kingdom: The development of new alliances?

The paper argues that the role of voluntary sector bodies in black and minority-ethnic (BME) communities is a missing factor in much of mainstream industrial relations and race and ethnicity debates. There are gaps between trade unions and organised community groups within BME communities. These are significant issues, which question some of the more optimistic analyses of the subject of union renewal in terms of community unionism. The space of BME representation is much more complex and diverse than that discussed in terms of individual worker needs. Questions of representation need to be addressed not solely in terms of formal representation but also of broader understandings of relations and perceptions between actors. This dovetails with the debate on the role of other actors in relation to representation within industrial relations. The paper ends with a discussion of how linkages between traditional and new industrial relations actors such as BME community groups and trade unions are constructed in a variety of unanticipated ways which require an understanding of the politics of BME groups, their regional dynamics and the way industrial relations is viewed. The paper is focused on the experiences of the United Kingdom.

The challenge of connecting and co‐ordinating the learning agenda: A case study of a trade union learning centre in the UK

Purpose – This paper aims to illustrate how innovative trade union strategies are emerging around the learning agenda and how these are being used to extend union strategies within the workplace and the community. However, it also shows how such strategies can be confronted with difficulties particularly when they are located in fixed spaces leaving them unable to develop or become sustainable once these spaces are challenged or closed due to inconsistent state and employer support.Design/methodology/approach – An in depth case study approach was adopted for the research, using predominantly semi‐structured interviews with a wide range of individuals over an 18 month period.Findings – The paper suggests that although unions are increasingly pushing forward their learning agenda and developing workplace and community learning centres, which undoubtedly generate benefits for all stakeholders, their learning strategies are often fixed into specific, closed locations and spaces, finding it difficult to develo...

Strategies in search of structures: the real world of community unionism in relation to black and minority ethnic communities

The aim of this chapter is to outline the reality and diversity of trade union initiatives within communities, especially Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Communities in the United Kingdom. It presents three cases which outline some of the ways trade unions have engaged with local communities. It does not claim to present a representative set of cases. However, the chapter uses the cases to formulate a series of arguments. The first is that there is no set template as far as community initiatives are concerned. The second is that many of the initiatives work through a variety of structures and strategies. The third is that community unionism can emerge even when it is not an explicit or enunciated objective. However, the chapter does conclude by arguing that the absence of community structures and clear alliances makes this dimension of trade union work uneven. Moreover, those trade unionists engaged with this dimension, whether they emerge from the official apparatus of the union or from the workplace, see community work as an aspect of their portfolio of activities and roles despite the absence of formal trade union rhetoric and policy to this end. In terms of those who actually develop these initiatives one detects in our cases they do so through their own initiatives and concerns that they develop.