Alarm over tactics of 'union-busting' firm

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008 ... radeunions

An Amercian consultancy accused of bringing 'union-busting' tactics to Britain has been condemned for its 'unfortunate track record' by a government committee, but allowed to continue operating in this country.

The Burke Group, based in Malibu, California, advertises itself as a 'management consulting firm specialising in union avoidance and preventative industrial labor relations'. It is one of several US 'union-busting' consultants which has caused alarm at the TUC about the use of underhand methods to persuade British workers against joining unions.

A recent report for the TUC said union-busting is a multi-billion-dollar business in the US and consultants from firms such as the Burke Group have been so successful that, despite some 60 million Americans saying that they would like to join a union, membership currently stands at just 7.5 per cent of the US private sector workforce.

The report claimed that the tactics used by union-busters are designed to frighten and intimidate workers away from any union attempt to recruit them at work. Consultants hired by employers in the US warn the workforce that the union will start harassing them in their homes, risk their job security, and cause them a loss of earnings and benefits. Employees are also given company leaflets warning them that if they join the union they are likely to be permanently on strike.

The Burke Group has worked in the UK for eight years and been responsible for the exclusion of unions from a number of companies including Kettle Chips and T-Mobile. It is currently working for Cable & Wireless, the telecommunications company, which is seeking to thwart the efforts of the Communications Workers Union to win recognition for 370 field engineers.

Last week the wrangle came before the government's Central Arbitration Committee (CAC), a statutory body which rules on the recognition of trade unions. The panel of the CAC said in its report that 'it shares the union concern that the Burke Group has an unfortunate track record'.

But that CAC ruled that a ballot of the Cable & Wireless employees must be held to determine whether a majority endorses union recognition. The decision was a rebuttal of the union's requests for recognition without a ballot.

The panel says that the company is entitled by UK employment legislation to employ Burke, but the union can complain to the CAC if there are breaches of statute or code. George Rankin, an organising officer for the Communications Workers Union said, 'We will be watching the Burke Group very carefully. We have seen their tactics in the past.'

The union told the CAC, in its evidence, that the 'presence of the Burke Group made it difficult to establish an honest, high-trust relationship with the employer which was a prerequisite for the successful conduct of a ballot'.

According to the CAC report, Cable & Wireless saw the Burke Group's role as 'advising on the complexities of the CAC process, providing guidance on manager-led factual communications as well as to promote best practices'. Simon Broome, Cable & Wireless human resources director for operations, said: 'The unfortunate track record is the CAC's view, and relates to activity elsewhere. I don't see how it relates to Cable & Wireless.'

The consultants' presence came to employees' attention as early as last summer, shortly after the union made its bid for recognition at Cable & Wireless. A meeting to dissuade employees from voting for recognition was attended by two individuals who were not introduced to the employees or named. The same people subsequently conducted one-to-one interviews with staff, where they asked them about their views on unions and collective bargaining.

Paul Nowak of the TUC believes that 'there are many of these firms operating behind the scenes in disputes where we have no idea of their presence'. He said they regard the UK as a relatively untapped market. 'The more successes they obtain, the more employers will bring them in.'

The Burke Group was approached for comment but did not return calls.

[rhino49]

I wonder if any Burke Group employees have already appeared on here - now there's a decent conspiracy theory for you.

[andy2007]

The Berk Group sounds about right. At least the CWU is already established at RM, so it should be harder for them to work here.

It doesn't help though, that the CWU has let us down recently. But I feel that it is important for all of us to remember, that no matter what happens, we need to stop these Burkes from denying us the protection of our Union.

Still, it doesn't surprise me that Leighton and Crozier have brought them in. I doubt that there is any limit to how low they will stoop to attack our rights.

[norbert]

I wonder if any Burke Group employees have already appeared on here - now there's a decent conspiracy theory for you.

Sounds if ASDA have used them with national collective bargaining with the GMB , the GMB took them to IT and ASDA got fined . ASDA went for an idea called Scrapeaway with "strategic " dismissals .
Depends if this Union bashing is purely from RM's Senior Managers or there's even more dark forces .