Union Boss Wins

Employees should have citizenship rights in the workplace similar to their rights as consumers or citizens of a democracy, says Des Geraghty. They should certainly have rights on a par with shareholders in their companies. Campaigning for the necessary changes in company law will be one of his priorities, according to SIPTU's new vice-president.

Mr Geraghty's election has been widely welcomed throughout the trade union movement, where he is regarded as both a strong defender of traditional values and one of its most innovative leaders. He sees no conflict between tradition and innovation. "Trade unions must become a focal point to assert the values of solidarity, equality, equity and democracy in the world of work - and in the wider community," he says.

"We have to challenge the value systems of the global money market that protect rich and powerful financial institutions. That means we have to think globally ourselves. We have to organise globally and, equally, know how and when to react to local problems."

This cannot be done through traditional methods. A shop steward at 17, who has been involved in tough industrial battles in Britain as well as Ireland, Mr Geraghty says, "I have always believed in addressing the wider agenda. Pay militancy alone does not produce real improvements in living standards.

"I negotiated very large increases in pay during the 1980s only to see them eroded by high inflation and taxation." While he says things have improved under successive national agreements, he believes that too many interest groups within the private sector are evading the collective responsibility to make the economy work for everyone.

"That's one of the reasons I've been drawing attention to house prices in recent weeks," he says. "We have members who are paying £700 to £900 a month on mortgages for relatively modest homes. It is pointless talking of pay rises ahead of inflation if this sort of thing is allowed to reduce the real take-home pay of workers." He says he welcomes the decision last week by Environment Minister Noel Dempsey to set up a task force to look at house prices.

If national agreements are to work they must deliver on three fronts. One is increases in pay, the second is significant tax reforms and low inflation - for which the Government must take primary responsibility - and the third is partnership between unions and employers at local level.

"The term partnership is over-used and abused," says Mr Geraghty. "What it means to me is raising the status of workers from being disposable commodities of a company, to being recognised as the core of every modern enterprise.

"The legal structures that give shareholders almost total control of a company will have to be changed if companies are to operate effectively in the next century. Managers and workers are the core. Capital can always be raised where you have a viable, people-rich enterprise. I believe that for these companies capital will become a peripheral consideration."

He also believes unions should be proactive in tackling bad management decisions and poor management generally.

"Our members' jobs are too valuable to be lost because management cannot perform. Too many firms see unions as an external threat, but workers have the right to be represented by whosoever they choose. The modern challenge is to humanise the workplace and get the best contribution from everyone."

While he favours the broad approach, national agreements facilitate to tackling problems, Mr Geraghty says. "The jury is still out on Partnership 2000." If it fails he predicts SIPTU will be "more than ready" to revert to more confrontational tactics.

Mr Geraghty admits the union is also in need of modernisation if it is to survive in the next century. Since its formation in 1990, SIPTU has shown modest growth in membership, but this is largely due to increased recruitment of atypical workers, including large numbers on long-term unemployed or community employment schemes.

Important as expansion into the predominantly service sector of atypical work is, the union has been less successful in winning members in the strategically important hi-tech, predominantly US-owned, plants. The leadership also received a nasty jolt earlier this year, when Socialist Workers Party member Carolann Duggan won over 38,000 votes in the election of SIPTU president. Many saw it as a vote against Partnership 2000 and the remoteness of head office, and certainly Ms Duggan showed a knack for directing the anger of the membership against the traditional union structures.

This time around she has taken 21,074 votes. One reason for Mr Geraghty's success is his "street cred" with the members. He has over 30 years experience behind him, while Ms Duggan, who received a lot of media attention during the election campaign, has never been involved in a strike.

Another reason is that Mr Geraghty has been heavily involved in SIPTU 2000, a Strategic Development Initiative begun by former president, Ed Browne. Mr Geraghty says the aim of SDI is to make SIPTU "a world class union". It has carried out a survey of members to see what their needs and expectations are.

Mr Geraghty also wants to raise the status and profile of the union. "SIPTU must identify real solutions to problems in the changing world of work. In a democracy nothing happens except in response to organised pressure. The losers in this world are those without organised expression and action," he says, paraphrasing the famous American economist J. K. Galbraith.

Part of that process involves devolving more authority to the members. Mr Geraghty has been involved in this in a variety of ways, publishing information sheets to help shop stewards in local negotiations, running a partly EU-funded NOW (New Opportunities for Women) programme to heighten involvement in SIPTU by its 40 per cent female membership and identifying potential growth areas.

"If workers are the core element in making companies succeed, we have to recognise they are also the core element in making unions work," he says.

Because of his formidable track record, expectations may be unrealistically high from Mr Geraghty's election. However, the general consensus is that if anyone can modernise SIPTU and expand its influence in the "changing world of work" it is the battle hardened Dub.