Restore collective bargaining and industrial relations capabilities to solve public sector disputes 

General Secretary Mike Clancy has called for the next government to restore collective bargaining and rebuild industrial relations institutions and capabilities to deliver better pay and minimise potential disputes in the public and private sectors.

Mike made the comments speaking on a panel examining the question How can public sector strikes be solved more effectively? hosted by the Institute for Government thinktank.

Opening the panel, Baroness Simone Finn drew on her experience as the 2010-15 coalition government’s industrial relations adviser under Lord Maude, then Minister for the Cabinet Office. Baroness Finn cited the importance of a strong personal relationship between union leaders and ministers and the need for government to be straightforward about its aims to achieve a trusting relationship and negotiate in good faith.

Mike then set out Prospect’s membership across the public sector – including government departments and arms’ length bodies – and the lessons the union learns from having a large membership across private sector employers. He noted that relationships between unions and the government have declined since 2010 as a result of successive governments’ approaches to industrial relations and that relations with public sector employers are often worse than those with private sector employers.

Treasury control of the pay remit process leaves the Cabinet Office in charge of setting pay across the Civil Service in name only, Mike argued. The lack of progression through pay scales, he said, is a major factor in the recruitment and retention crisis in the Civil Service. Mike pointed out that many Prospect members have private sector analogues, from procurement experts in the Ministry of Defence to health and safety inspectors at the Health and Safety Executive, and the failure to pay a comparable rate is leaving the public sector weaker as skilled and experienced workers seek better terms elsewhere.

Good employee relations must be a priority for the next government whichever party wins office, Clancy argued, if the current period of industrial unrest is to be alleviated – with a focus on the institutions that can foster this, including the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Council (ACAS).

Following Mike, the Chief Executive of the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) Raj Jethwa echoed other speakers by noting the importance of building trust between employer and union representatives. He went on to say that setting realistic expectations is crucial in successfully negotiating a settlement acceptable to both the employer and its workforce.

Closing the opening comments from the panellists, ACAS’ Director of Dispute Resolution Kate Nowicki posited that respect between parties and a focus on the long-term rather than short-term problem fixing is essential to building sustainable relationships that can minimise conflict.

Questions from the panel’s chair, the Institute for Government’s Programme Director Nick Davies, included one to Mike asking how an incoming government could fix a fundamentally broken relationship with trade unions.

Mike pointed out that unions should want to achieve a good settlement for their members and industrial peace – but that requires trust that the government is approaching negotiations in good faith. He cited the Labour Party’s proposed New Deal for Working People as an important step in rebalancing power between employers and workers, but noted that improved pay will be needed for Prospect’s Civil Service members who have seen real terms pay cuts of up to 26% since 2010.

In response to an audience question, Mike called for the rebuilding of collective bargaining and the organisations facilitating this as a way to improve industrial relations and deliver better settlements for workers across the UK’s workforce.