The Conference was opened by Tom Burlison, Deputy General Secretary of the GMBU - one of the UK's largest unions. Commenting on the huge changes brought about by automation and computer control of many manufacturing processes and the consequent loss of jobs and whole trades, Burlison argued that the labour movement must now begin to face the challenges being presented by the information society.
He said that if the information revolution could improve people's lives through less stressful and more flexible work patterns, if it could bring environmental benefits by reducing the need to travel, and if it resulted in rural regeneration and a better economic balance between the north and the south, then it was the duty of trade unionists to welcome the technology.
Warning Note
Burlison sounded a note of warning about potential disadvantages to teleworkers such as social isolation, job insecurity stemming from unscrupulous organisations hiring and firing at will, the export of jobs, and the lack of attention to insurance and health and safety.
While the labour movement should not stand in the way of technological progress, Burlison argued, it had a duty to consider how to organise and protect workers from those who would exploit them. The movement should be asking itself how to encourage communication between geographically dispersed members and shop stewards, and how to ensure consistent conditions of employment. It should be asking what controls should be urged on the government for regulating the use of the infobahn as a tool for work.
First Steps
In concluding, Burlison reported on his own union's first tentative steps in using the new technologies for the benefit of its members. The GMB has begun to use databases to store and analyse information on collective agreements, desktop publishing to revamp the union's image, and electronic mail to improve internal and external communications.
The GMB and the labour movement as a whole, Burlison maintained, still had a long way to go in responding to the challenges of telematics.