IS IT possible to be a trade union member and an effective manager? This was the gist of a query put to me by a senior health manager who noted that many of the middle managers in his region often cited union reservations on proposals to initiate reforms or manage budgets.
From a private sector perspective it appears bizarre that so many senior managers in the public sector, State agencies and semi-State companies retain their union membership as they progress up the career ladder to near the very top.
On a personal level, trade union membership can offer some clear advantages such as professional representation in the face of incompetent or capricious management. And this comes at an annual cost which would barely buy you one hour with a labour lawyer in one of the larger firms.
It can also help preserve the status quo and limit competition, which most people naturally do not like or would prefer to minimise, especially in the areas of rewards and promotion.
Union membership at a senior level exists in some isolated parts of the private sector, although the bitter bank dispute of 1991 redrew the lines when branch managers, who had retained their Irish Bank Officials' Association membership, jumped ship rather than lose their company cars, leading to mass union expulsions after the strike ended.
But the problem encountered by my health manager friend was not the issue of trades union membership as much as the mindset of the individual managers. Most are in the ranks of Impact, probably the most influential union in the State, with nine out of 10 of its 55,000 members, directly or indirectly, on the State payroll.
Typically they joined the health service from secondary school and, for more than 30 years, enjoyed the protection of the "common recruitment pool".
This operated on the basis that all positions, up to senior middle manager grade eight, were restricted to existing employees of health boards, local authorities or vocational education committees. No outsiders with commercial or overseas health management experience could even be interviewed.
Each time there was a major restructuring, such as the establishment of the Eastern Regional Health Authority and, in 2004, the Health Service Executive, most of the more senior staff received either promotions or double-digit pay rises in return for accepting the changes.
But there is a management cost in that many of these public servants see the world through union goggles. Change is slow and usually must be agreed at a national partnership level. Local reforms must be gauged against any national knock-on implications or potential inter-union rivalries.
It would be foolish to ride roughshod over legitimate union concerns in a highly unionised sector but senior public sector managers must have confidence in their structures and strategies. These should not be trimmed to suit any union membership nostalgia.
Gerald Flynn is an employment specialist with Align Management Solutions in Dublin. gflynn@alignmanagement.net
