Workplace Democracy: an old idea that needs to be reborn

Inequality isn’t just about wealth and income, it’s also about ownership

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the value and contribution of workers — especially those on our frontlines — to our economy and society was on full display. Unfortunately, it also highlighted the level of precarity that many workers face and the power imbalance between employer and employee, encapsulated in the attitude of employers like Pat McDonagh. It was fitting that Labour leader Alan Kelly reminded us of this imbalance at the party’s annual commemoration to James Connolly:

“ the basic relationship is still one between employers and employees. And that basic relationship is not a partnership of equals. Workers do not have the same power as their employers. So organised labour and the Labour Party have to counter-balance the inherent power of employers in our economy.”

Above all, we have been reminded that workers should not simply be another commodity for business owners. The Labour Party has been clear over the last few weeks that we cannot go back to business as usual once this pandemic subsides. Workers need to be given the rights and dignity they deserve through a new social contract, based on Universal Basic Services and strong collective bargaining rights.

When we consider how to ensure dignity for workers, perhaps returning to Connolly’s vision of the ‘Cooperative Commonwealth’, as he and others called it, is what is needed. In his 1915 work The Re-Conquest of Ireland, he wrote:

“ the Labour Movement of Ireland must set itself the Re-Conquest of Ireland as its final aim, … that re-conquest involves taking possession of the entire country, all its power of wealth-production and all its natural resources, and organising these on a co-operative basis for the good of all.”

The Starry Plough, designed by noted ‘co-operator’ George Russell, symbolised Connolly’s vision that “a free Ireland would control its own destiny from the plough to the stars” — from the national parliament to the factory floor. When we consider how to ensure dignity for workers, perhaps returning to Connolly’s vision of the ‘Cooperative Commonwealth’, as he and others called it, is what is needed. Labour’s task in the Ireland of 2020 is to translate this vision into practical policies.

Democratic socialism aims at something that is not radical in abstract, but becomes radical when put in the context of an economy like ours. It aims at political, social, and economic democracy. As Labour leader Brendan Corish argued in his 1967 New Republic speech:

“ Socialism … applies not just to political freedom but also to the principle of economic freedom which recognises that all men have a right to participate in decisions affecting their livelihood, whether in the workshop, the office or the farm.”

Many in Ireland argue for our political and social democracy to be strengthened, but what is often missing in political debates is a conversation on economic democracy. Worker codetermination, where companies are required to give workers representation in corporate structures, is the norm in European social democracies. In Germany, companies of over 500 employees must allocate one third of the board of directors to workers; those of over 2,000 employees allocate just under half of the board to workers. As well as this, many of these countries have far stronger worker cooperative sectors than we do.

Elsewhere, conversations about greater worker democracy have restarted among progressives in the US and UK. A significant part of these conversations centred around alternative forms of ownership, notably the worker cooperative model. Worker cooperatives are the embodiment of economic democracy. Workers run, own, and direct the enterprise themselves in a democratic manner. Worker coops have been proven to be just as economically efficient and productive, if not more so, than traditional private companies.

The 2017 UK Labour report Alternative Models of Ownership outlined potential policies for encouraging the worker coop sector and other forms of ownership. One of these was that if a company were up for sale, the company’s workforce would become the buyers of first refusal. As well as this, ways of incentivising private owners to convert their companies into worker coops were considered — the ownership of the John Lewis group is an example of this. Given the initial investment problems that worker coops can have, Labour’s current policy for a public banking sector as well as strengthening credit unions are vital.

The Mondragon federation of worker coops in Spain has been one of the most successful examples of the model. While not perfect, its endurance at least proves that such cooperative structures can work. In Italy, the Emilia Romagna region has always had a strong worker coop sector — owing to many years of leftist government in the area. Even in the United States, often considered to be the apex of capitalism, the worker coop sector is much stronger than it is here.

When James Connolly and Thomas Johnson spoke about socialism, they were concrete in their aims, radical in their ambitions, and clear about what needed to change. What they recognised is that democracy cannot meaningfully exist without challenging the power of private capital. As the 1969 Labour Outline on Worker Democracy argued:

“ Unless the inequality between those who own or manage, and those who merely work, is brought to a swift end, then political democracy will become progressively more meaningless. “

We need a more democratic economy. But we cannot achieve such an economy without fighting for it. That’s why we need a labour movement, that’s why we need trade unions — because labour is not as strong as capital on its own. Our Labour Party here in Ireland can and should embrace a bold vision of a society transformed from top to bottom. We need a vision of a radically more democratic society in which everyone not only has a floor below which they cannot fall but also has a say in the economic decisions that affect their lives. That is the essence of worker democracy. In the coming debate about how to ensure the dignity of our workers post-Covid, giving them a say in their workplace must be part of the conversation.

Posted in Labour Youth’s Left Tribune

Originally published at http://seanrainford.wordpress.com on June 23, 2020.