"Trade union structures and purpose are or should be intimately connected' said Jeremy Waddington, Professor of Industrial relations at Manchester University at a Unions 21 seminar last November.
His views on the future of union structures can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t50msxGIWU8&feature=related
Jeremy makes many points relevant to UNISON, particulary the review of service groups carried in recent years and at last now being implemented by the NEC and service groups http://www.unison.org.uk/activists/pages_view.asp?did=9140
In the next 6 months attention will turn to the effectiveness of the union's political structures (or ineffectiveness in the case of the Labour Link as the Giovernment's marketisation of public services has continued relentlessly in Labour's third term). The new issue of InFocus includes a useful briefing on the review http://www.unison.org.uk/activists/pages_view.asp?did=9272.
