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18 June, 2000
The old system of organising production is on its way out. New technology and high tech are revolutionising the entire working life. The old hierarchy, with clear distinctions between workers and employees, blue and white collar, is disappearing.
The division between various categories was based on the concept that a production worker could not take any responsibility, and that he or she had to be constantly under control. But this was also an extremely subtle method of keeping workers away from each other. Being so-called white collar would have been considered better than if one were just blue collar.
F. W. Taylor invented the scientific method to split the working class.
With new technology, a new challenge and possibility to unite working people instead of divide them presents itself. And we have to seize this unique opportunity.
The IMF as a whole, with all its affiliates, will have to address this issue and start recruiting workers in the new information technology (IT) and high tech (HT) companies. There are, however, two problems in this regard. The first one is the low level of unionisation among young, new workers in these sectors. They know very little about trade unions. Also, they have been educated longer and better for their jobs, but less about participation in society.
This represents a great challenge which we must take up, with new and better activities specially tailored for these new groups. Traditionally organised meetings, conferences and seminars will have to be changed in order to have relevance for the new workers. The use of computers and Internet technology is imperative if we are to make trade union activities attractive to them.
A new and very interesting experiment was made at the Congress of SIF (Svenska Industritjänstemannaförbundet) last week in Stockholm. Instead of organising their Congress in the traditional form, delegates were asked to participate in the debate in four different committees. They were also asked to contribute to the debate and formulation of the decisions through the use of the e-mail. In other words, new tech was the major instrument in the practice of trade union democracy. We are all looking forward to seeing how the leadership of SIF evaluates this new experience.
The second problem is the different structures which exist in the various countries. For instance, in all the Nordic countries, so-called white-collar employees are organised in their own trade unions, which belong to different confederations. And they have special collective agreements.
In Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan and many developing countries, white- and blue-collar workers are members of the same unions but are also covered by the same collective agreements as well.
Common collective agreements, including all categories of workers, must be the ideal.
With new technology, IT and HT, new responsibilities will be given to everyone. Production is depending equally on every worker. This will make the old Taylorism obsolete, and new work organisation will develop based on teamwork, with responsibility for production and quality shared equally by all people involved.
This will undoubtedly bring with it a new structure for the unions as well.
Again, the Swedes are on the front line. It was announced at the SIF Congress that at the new Ericsson plant, in Mölndal (near Göteborg), the three local unions of Svenska Metall, SIF and CF (Civilingenjörsförbundet), which are by the way all members of the IMF and other international trade secretariats as well, have decided to join together as one union to represent their membership at local level there.
This is very interesting and shows that, at plant level, people are no longer interested in keeping the old structures -- at least not in HT and IT companies.
We definitely have to give this more thought.
The division between various categories was based on the concept that a production worker could not take any responsibility, and that he or she had to be constantly under control. But this was also an extremely subtle method of keeping workers away from each other. Being so-called white collar would have been considered better than if one were just blue collar.
F. W. Taylor invented the scientific method to split the working class.
With new technology, a new challenge and possibility to unite working people instead of divide them presents itself. And we have to seize this unique opportunity.
The IMF as a whole, with all its affiliates, will have to address this issue and start recruiting workers in the new information technology (IT) and high tech (HT) companies. There are, however, two problems in this regard. The first one is the low level of unionisation among young, new workers in these sectors. They know very little about trade unions. Also, they have been educated longer and better for their jobs, but less about participation in society.
This represents a great challenge which we must take up, with new and better activities specially tailored for these new groups. Traditionally organised meetings, conferences and seminars will have to be changed in order to have relevance for the new workers. The use of computers and Internet technology is imperative if we are to make trade union activities attractive to them.
A new and very interesting experiment was made at the Congress of SIF (Svenska Industritjänstemannaförbundet) last week in Stockholm. Instead of organising their Congress in the traditional form, delegates were asked to participate in the debate in four different committees. They were also asked to contribute to the debate and formulation of the decisions through the use of the e-mail. In other words, new tech was the major instrument in the practice of trade union democracy. We are all looking forward to seeing how the leadership of SIF evaluates this new experience.
The second problem is the different structures which exist in the various countries. For instance, in all the Nordic countries, so-called white-collar employees are organised in their own trade unions, which belong to different confederations. And they have special collective agreements.
In Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Japan and many developing countries, white- and blue-collar workers are members of the same unions but are also covered by the same collective agreements as well.
Common collective agreements, including all categories of workers, must be the ideal.
With new technology, IT and HT, new responsibilities will be given to everyone. Production is depending equally on every worker. This will make the old Taylorism obsolete, and new work organisation will develop based on teamwork, with responsibility for production and quality shared equally by all people involved.
This will undoubtedly bring with it a new structure for the unions as well.
Again, the Swedes are on the front line. It was announced at the SIF Congress that at the new Ericsson plant, in Mölndal (near Göteborg), the three local unions of Svenska Metall, SIF and CF (Civilingenjörsförbundet), which are by the way all members of the IMF and other international trade secretariats as well, have decided to join together as one union to represent their membership at local level there.
This is very interesting and shows that, at plant level, people are no longer interested in keeping the old structures -- at least not in HT and IT companies.
We definitely have to give this more thought.