A Threat to the Shop. Stewards C

van Gelderen eit It is significant that the first of the Research Papers issued by the Royal Commission on Trade Unions end Employers! ‘ssociations should deal with "The Role of Shop Stewards in British Industricl welations." The reason for this is not far to seck. The Commission consists almost entirely of the representatives of Big Business and the frade Union bureaucracy. Both have good reason to fear the influence of the Shop Stewards which reflect on the one hand, the embryonic development of dual power within a given industry and, on the other, acts as a break on the back-sliding Union officials, ready to sell out the rank-and-file on some spurious pretext, ‘like “saving the pound", or another. The general view of the steward, as he emerges out of this, not unbiased report is a shopfloor bargeiner, prepared to use every opportunity to satisfy his members' grievances, ‘If necessary he is prepared to circumvent rules and procedures and even ignore established Union boundaries." The shop steward was originally envisaged as a sort of “middle-man" between union officials and management. In practice, however, he often acts as the true representative of the interests of his fellow-workers against both management and trade union officialdom. This is particularly true in a tivht lebour market situation, such as the present, when the official union leadership icentifies itself with the "national interest‘! and abancons its main task of furthering the interests of its membership. More and more the workers at the bench turn to their shop stewarcs to lead them in the struggle - to-day often a three-pronged battle against the bosses the Government end the Trade Union bureaucracy. As the report states shop stewards negotiated over a wide range of issues with all levels of management and tended to become most prominent and powerful when they had managed to obtain some control over carnings. From the management point of view, the es ential role of the shop steward involved incessant challenge 2nd constant attack. No wonder management so resolutely opposes the demand to open the ‘books for, with this weapon the shop steward would indeed become a threat to the very existence of the present industrial set-up. Hven so, the element of dual power is very much in evidence, according to the jurvey. <tewards do not hesitate to exploit management mistakes and weaknesses, to restrict management freedom and prerog:tives and to subject every manasement decision that might affect their members” to continual review. From the workers' side, snys the teport, it looked like industrial democracy - from the viewpoint of the harassed manager, the growth of the shop steward challenge ‘sometimes. appears, at best, interference, and, at worst, an undermining of legitimate authority." ‘Where the influence of the shop stewards grew in a rhs the lower levels of supervision - foremen,floor superintendents etc. - oe. fon. found themselves left out of the industrial relations decisions, shop 2¢ Bed unrestricted access to top mmarzement to get speedy and satisfactory settlement. In industries where the influence of the shop stewards are growing,there is a corresponding decline in that of the joint consultative committees,which ere regarded by the stewards “as an ineffective and unfair substitute for collective bargaining."' The survey recognises the shop steward as the thin end of the wedge for full wrker's control in incustry. It advocated legal penalties be cpplicd to ciscipline shop stewerds and to prevent the influence of wage drift,of which they regard the shop ctewards as the prise cgents. The Survey would like to see a shop Steward movement which, if it must exist at all, is as docile toward management as the average trede union official,with its powers curbed by Parliament.