The case for unionising unemployed and beneficiary workers

[This rank and file worker makes the case for the proposed amalgamation of three unions in NZ to have the equal membership rights of unemployed and beneficiary workers along with employed workers written into the Constitution of the new union.]

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A worker once asked a rank and file union member, “Who controls the level of union membership at any given time?”

The union worker answered, “Well, if union membership drops because of closures, lay-offs and redundancies, then it must be the BOSSES plain and simple.”

Of course the other part of the equation is that it is helped along needlessly by an institutionalised union mindset that says union membership ends with the termination of paid employment. The biggest indictment against unions in relation to unemployed/beneficiary workers has been a failure to recognise them as WORKERS first and foremost. Workers solidarity is a Joke!

The Returned Services Association (RSA) in spite of its dubious politics has set a better example of solidarity by maintaining continuity of membership and benefits long after its members have ceased their military service. Within the RSA, ‘comrade’ means comrade and not merely a loose and shallow term of address as it is used among some union members.

Unions abandon unemployed

In the past, when unionism was young, the unions looked at the wage earner as the union member but also extended help to the family in times of adversity. This dropped away at the height of compulsory unionism when unions were better resourced with no compulsion for union bureaucrats to recognise or advocate on behalf of members whose paid employment had come to an end. Union reliance on the welfare system instituted by the first Labour Govt and maintained to this day by all successive Govt’s has divested any union involvement in the ongoing interests of these workers being kept on as union members.

The now defunct ‘Peoples Centres’ that advocated on behalf of beneficiaries, were one part of an attempt by volunteers who were mostly unemployed to address the problem. Hugely under resourced, they were always doomed to go under. Others still march on in support of the rights of beneficiaries; but it is an endless struggle. One such organisation, the ‘Whanau Resource Centre’ in Pukekohe South Auckland is contracted to Counties Manukau DHB and CYFS as a half way house for battered women and their children. It also doubles up as a beneficiary workers advocate service among other things. Its principal organiser has said that beneficiary advocacy belongs in the unions.

Bringing unemployed back into unions

A former DSW/WINZ frontline case manager and PSA delegate with 18 years experience in Christchurch, Manurewa and Pukekohe spoke of dealing with beneficiary advocate groups who were clearly out of their depth. Some could barely afford the gas to make it to WINZ offices and keep appointments. Keeping up to date information important for their clients was also a problem. [WINZ like the Dept. Of Inland Revenue is not in the business of informing taxpayers of their entitlements when there is a cost incurred by the respective Govt. Departments. That’s for the client to find out.]

In Christchurch the former WINZ worker remembered having to deal with laid off workers who were members of several unions including the NDU, SFWU, EPMU etc. In many cases, older union members in particular, lamented the passing of their union associations brought to a halt by the machinations of bosses. Some become so demoralised at being unemployed, that health/ psychological deterioration forces them onto one of the various sickness benefits and worse.

She went on to say, “It’s no use putting the thing in the ‘too hard basket.’ There exists more potential to grow a structure within the union movement to deal with unemployed workers than outside of it. Sudden policy changes have an immediate impact on beneficiaries. Without the support or security of independent unions, unemployed workers are forced to fend for themselves. Unions have to take ownership of this issue. They avoid it at their peril.”

Unite, union of low-paid, unemployed workers and beneficiaries

In 1992 in the wake of the introduction of the ECA, the TUF (Trade Union Federation) which came out of the temporary bust up of the CTU included among its ranks the newly formed union called UNITE. A pivotal plank in UNITEs constitution is a commitment to represent the interests of ‘unemployed workers and beneficiaries. To date, UNITE has never been able to fulfil that role.

Lack of resources and the perceived logistics nightmare of organising dispersed unemployed/ beneficiary workers are among the problems haunting UNITE in its current manifestation. Its internal politics with regards to a certain section of its own membership on this very issue has become acrimonious with no resolution in sight.

Amalgamation

It is now the task of the eventual amalgamated union to rise to the occasion and sort out the mess left in the wake of UNITE before it’s too late for all of us. Today as the uniting of the NDU, SFWU and UNITE inches ever closer, so does the challenge to incorporate within the new union, a sector dedicated to unemployed and beneficiary workers with its own organisers. Imaginative and bold use of new technology in conjunction with a new union call centre will ensure better delivery of services to all union members including this most vulnerable part of our community. As things stand, we have historically limited our scope in terms of union recruitment to paid employees while neglecting the collective potential of paid workers, unemployed workers and beneficiary workers together. This must change! The demands of future industrial struggle and political turmoil (Bush gearing up to bomb Iran), make it important for unions to be more inclusive of all workers irrespective of their being employed or otherwise.

Conclusion

Unions as a subset of the wider working class which constitutes the majority of the human race, must be strengthened on our terms and not the profit driven whims of the bosses. Unions have always been weakened by the continuous cycle of small advances and big retreats in terms of membership because we give bosses the ability to weaken unions every time there are closures, layoffs and government policies that are friendly to the interests of bosses. We have a mandate to inspire young workers to want to join unions and become involved in the wider political activities affecting workers. We have to show that unions will always provide security, support and solidarity when those same workers suffer bad health and fall victim to the shrinking job market.

The prospect of returning to the ECA is very real if National wins the next general election. We do not want to see history repeat itself.

Lets inspire the next generation:

Union Independence from the state

Union Independence from political parties

Whakakotahi nga kaimahi o te Ao! (Workers of the world Unite!)

By Rank and Filer, Site Delegate, Wood Sector, NDU