BREXIT No deal no way “
Brexit cannot be some- thing which will just happen to us or be imposed from above. How it is experi- enced is something we can and must proactively shape, irrespective of the attempts to divide us
One workplace rep for bus drivers in the South West described how his firm attempted to use Brexit to resist a pay increase, saying, “The central justification was that they couldn’t project with any certainty in relation to revenue and whether Brexit would have a negative impact on the local economy.”
Len McCluskey Unite GS
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As a result of a threat of strike action, the company eventually capitulated and offered the deal the reps had fought for, which was unanimously accepted by the membership. Similar fight backs against Brexit-linked attacks on pay and other aspects of industrial relations were reported in the interviews.
“The one constant that remained throughout the research was that Unite reps and members were confronting Brexit uncertainty head-on and in many cases winning,” said Andrew Waterman, lead author and University of Portsmouth researcher.
“We found examples of reps securing pay increases and maintaining collective bargaining agreements in the face of employer opportunism that sought to attack previous gains. By treating Brexit as an industrial issue and refusing to
be swayed by the political climate, reps and members have been able to stand up to these attacks.
“The research also showed the importance of Unite reps continuing to be proactive in their industrial approach to Brexit, even as the uncertainty over ‘no deal’ grows. Brexit fatigue and frustration can become an industrial danger if they are allowed to lead to fatalism. The research proves Unite reps and members have every reason to be confident in their collective ability to shape the impact of Brexit in the workplace; mitigating any impact and advancing members’ interests.”
To do this the report puts forward a number of recommendations for workplace reps to mobilise members and get ahead of any Brexit issues. These include using agreements to demand information on, and input into, any employer Brexit plans, exposing Brexit opportunism, securing protections and Brexit proof wages in pay talks and other bargaining opportunities and supporting migrant workers.
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