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Stepping up to the mark

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Page context: Home > Transport International Magazine > Issue 27 April 2007 > Stepping up to the mark

Liz Williamson describes how aviation unions used a recent seminar to put new impetus into their organising campaigns

“Organising” has become quite a buzzword in union circles, particularly in transport where the movement is working to roll out a strategy for “organising globally” as agreed at the ITF Congress in Durban in August 2006.

We in the ITF’s civil aviation section felt we needed to take the message straight out to all our affiliates. We need to encourage and support those unions that want to build their strength and become more effective in their bargaining processes. Pushing the bargaining agenda forward ultimately strengthens the whole of the union.

The civil aviation sector has experienced substantial job cuts and a weakening of our terms and conditions for a whole raft of reasons in recent years, but a number of our affiliates have developed very successful organising campaigns which have helped turn their unions around. Our first ever organising seminar, in November 2006, gave us the opportunity to share these experiences and strategies with all our affiliates in the sector.

Organising Low Cost Carriers
"Apathy among the potential membership must be attacked head on, first of all by having respected and committed delegates in the workplace, continually spreading the union message..." continue reading >>

The seminar was very much action based, using a combination of speakers and small group workshops. It focused on the key issues identified by our affiliates, and on developing strategies to put into action on their return to their workplaces. This agenda was facilitated throughout by Teresa Conrow, an experienced tutor in organising and campaigning, who is familiar to many ITF affiliates who have been on our education courses in the past.

Steve Turner from the UK Transport and General Workers Union opened the discussions with a presentation on his union’s strategic approach to organising across the aviation sector in the UK. But first Steve gave an insight into how his union has refocused its activities in order to organise and rebuild sustainable worker organisation in existing and developing areas of the economy.

Twin challenges for aviation and maritime workers

By Mark Davis

An important point to consider when comparing civil aviation and maritime industries in an ITF context is that the civil aviation section organises both aircraft crew and ground handling service workers. The maritime industry equivalent of these workers is organised by two separate ITF sections: seafarers and dockers.

Cynics would say that the only difference between aviation and shipping is 500 knots. The industries are similar in a number of ways from a trade union perspective. They are both highly globalised, involving large multinational corporations, foreign aircraft or vessel owners/operators and foreign employers of workers.

A significant similarity from an organising point of view is that both sectors must surmount the obstacle of workplace dislocation. This means it is not so simple for a national trade union to get access to its nationals on aircraft and ships, which may never land or berth at their national airports or ports.

The problem is compounded in the seafaring sector, where workers can be away from a potential organising trade union for 12 months or more, with few port calls and very limited time in port, whereas aircraft crew regularly make appearances at airports.

The most obvious organising tool in these circumstances, and the most direct benefit for the workers, is to have a collective bargaining agreement covering the workplace – be it ship or aircraft.

In the maritime industry, where there is potentially such diversity in nationalities aboard one ship, another problem is that the agreement may have been negotiated without the input or in some cases the knowledge of the workers covered by it. The result is an indirect relationship between the union that negotiates the agreement, and the worker who receives the benefit from it. This problem, which undermines union strength, is primarily confined to flag of convenience rather than national flag ships.

One issue that stimulated considerable debate during the seminar was the need to address trade union fragmentation within both sectors. Examples of Russia and Panama were used in the maritime industry, and India and Bangladesh in aviation. There is no strength in having large numbers of trade unions in a sector – except to allow an employer to divide a workforce. Rationalisation must be promoted and political and personal agendas sidelined in the interests of solidarity.

Mark Davis is programme co-ordinator of the ITF Seafarers Union Development Programme.

Aviation is a key industrial sector, which has been targeted by the union, and there have subsequently been a series of successful campaigns, especially among the fast growing low cost airlines.

Campaign targeting

The low cost sector featured prominently in discussions throughout our three and a half day event. Some of our affiliates identified certain key airlines as organising targets for their workshops.

Darryl Watkins of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia (Domestic Regional Division) showed that careful research prior to a campaign, especially into the type of workforce, (young workers in this case), would pay dividends in any campaign. He also made it clear that this is not simply a numbers game, but an exercise in involving members in their campaigns by developing effective and innovative communication tools.

Our third speaker, Mark Davis from the maritime sector, drew pertinent comparisons between the aviation and maritime industries and the needs of their unions. Both industries are highly globalised with workplace owners/operators and employers in both industries very often foreign. There is also a high degree of workplace dislocation in both industries. All of this means a workplace delegate structure is imperative if we are to build a sustainable union organisation.

Building action

The speakers gave our affiliates plenty of food for thought in their own workshops, which focused for example on mapping their workplaces, identifying their workplace issues, discussing improvements to their communication networks and finding ways to build collective actions. With more than 25 unions representing 20 countries, the discussions were inevitably varied, but there were common themes, which reflected the developing global trends in aviation such as privatisation, outsourcing, and the impact of non-union low cost carriers.

After three days, each workshop group was asked to present its action plans for union organising campaigns. It was clear from the presentations that there would be viable campaigns in each region. A number of companies were targeted, including low cost airlines, a legacy carrier, airports and ground handling operations. Some very innovative strategies were proposed and ground-breaking ideas were exchanged between the groups.

Our aim now is to support the regions in on-going campaigns, and we look forward to a more pro-active involvement in regional organising work in 2007, through to our next Congress in 2010.

Organising Globally – Fighting for our Rights is not just a slogan prepared for the 2006 Congress in Durban. The civil aviation section made it clear in Durban that we would take the organising globally vision seriously by developing a practical programme of work to assist our affiliates in building their union strength. This organising seminar was the start of that process.”

Liz Williamson is assistant ITF civil aviation section secretary.

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Issue 27 April 2007

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