Trade Unions and Networking in a Context of Organisational Change Available to Purchase

Informal relations between trade unionists that circumvent the narow ambit of their organisations and constituent political parties is nothing new. Yet, since the 1960s, we have witnessed an increase in such activity in the form of information networks that have complemented if not undermined what Heery and Kelly call the traditional model of professional and officer led trade unionism (Heery and Kelly, 1993). The 1970s, in particular, witnessed a brief flurry of shop stewards activity within certain sectors. Organisational inertia and even unease within the higher echelons of various trade unons undermined such developments, as did the somewhat Utopian and workplace orientation of the politics of the evolving networkers themselves.