Unions - time for change?

y political commentators are citing the announcement as a direct knee jerk reaction to accusations levied at the Unite union for attempting to rig the selection of a parliamentary candidate for Falkirk in Scotland.

I must admit the system does seem a little 'cloak and dagger'. Currently, members of supportive unions pay an automatic levy to Labour unless they specifically choose to opt out. The estimated cost to the Labour party of not making this an automatic process is around £5 million - certainly not chicken feed. To quote the man himself, Mr Miliband said: "I do not want any individual to be paying money to the Labour Party in affiliation fees unless they have deliberately chosen to do so."

Labour's affiliation with the unions is both longstanding and well documented, but I can understand Mr Miliband's desire to wipe the slate clean and start afresh. There's no doubt the unions are responsible for some much needed changes in the workplace over the years. In the manufacturing sector, health and safety springs to mind and it must be very reassuring to know that in the event of a dispute between employee and employer, the former doesn't have to fight the battle on his or her own. Other undesirable aspects like bullying in the workplace and victimisation are despicable and unions can be a godsend in these circumstances.

But conversely, I'm sure the union-centric days of the 1960s and 70s certainly contributed to the demise of UK manufacturing. Workers went on strike for the smallest of things and it seemed to take very little to persuade employees to down tools and go out on strike. I realise that I'm painting a very broad picture here but while you're on strike, you can't make things and productivity plummets. Do this too often and firms start relocating their manufacturing resource elsewhere. Sound familiar? When I started work in the early 1980s, I really did have to endure over-militant, Stalinesque shop stewards standing on boxes barking out provocative rhetoric to the workers. I sincerely hope those days are long gone!

Anyway, onto the July issue of PES. Our cover story this month is all about Renishaw and its splendid new manufacturing site in Miskin, South Wales. One thing the company certainly won't be short of is space. Check out the article on page 16.