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arguillent
BOB MONKS
Truck driver turned barrister Bob Monks has just become general secretary of he United Road Transport Union. In an exclusive interview, with CMhe tells Sherrington of his pledge to win status and respect for professional drivers.
United Road Transport Union general secretary Bob Monks is so new in his job that he says he hasn't even had time to decide where in his office to sit. However, the trades union movement's latest general sec is already getting to grips with his new )b—a post he came to via a fairly unusual areer path, as he is maybe the only qualified arrister to be elected a union general secretry. Monks started his working life as a drier for Nestle at its Cheshire distribution cen:e; in 1982 he became a shop steward. In 984, at the age of 25, he was appointed a all-time regional officer for the North-West nd was probably the youngest person to old such a position.
'Major developments
Ie stayed in this post until r999 but in the ft-ter years there were two major develop:lents in his career. First of all, he was given esponsibility for recruiting in Scotland and dded 1,500 members to the union's register. `his success in recruitment meant that when e left it was decided that the union needed an dditional full-time organiser to cover the land Loral of the border.
Second, he began studying law and in 1999 ?ft the union to take up a pupillage at /filburn House Chambers, Newcastle upon Tyne, where in October 2000 he was taken on as a barrister specialising in employment law.
So why, only six months into a promising new career, did he put his hat in the ring for the post of URTU general secretary? "A lot of people said I should stand and in the end the opportunity to become general secretary of a trades union was too good an opportunity to turn up," he explains.
Monks points out that there is a tremendous overlap between his two careers. URTU has never had a specialist legal officer and he is prepared to provide specialist legal advice where necessary, but also feels that union officials have increasingly been seeking legal remedies to industrial relations issues. "The way I really see it, is that field officers are dealing with employment discrimination problems and part of the remedy is provided by the recent Employment Relations Act," he adds.
He welcomes the act saying: "No doubt any legislation that favours the employee is good, but it is all a question of striking the right balance. As a full-time official in the t98os I consistently had to deal, year after year, with the consequences of anti-employee legislation and the act tends to redress this balance."
He accepts that there will always be conflict between employers and employees but is a great believer in the idea of a working partnership between the two parties, suggesting that this is the only way that the industry can move forward effectively.
He also wants to improve relationships with the Transport & General Workers Union after the bitter dispute over the representation of drivers at Ford's Dagenham plant led to URTU leaving the Trades Union Congress. "I don't think in our dayto-day working there has been much conflict but I see healing the rift very much as being the way forward and would like to see the T&G working with URTU for the greater common good," he says. "I would also like to see a role back in the TUC for us."
Voting membership
Working with and for his 16,585 members is definitely Bob Monks' number one priority. He points out that he has a mandate from the electorate and is determined to honour this mandate. He was actually elected by less than to% of the union's voting membership but still enjoyed a comfortable majority, recording 1,533 votes against regional organiser Mike Billingham's 1,225 and acting general secretary Nigel Rogers' 1,219. Outsider John Jones recorded 300 votes.
"What I will bring is an openness to the job. I have been elected by the whole of the membership in the United Kingdom and I feel that I must be accessible for all of these members," says Monks. "You will never get a better bunch of people than HGV drivers. The job is a professional job and drivers are extremely hard working. When I first became a driver in the 198os many people were jealous of me as it was
regarded as a plum job. I want to return it to that status by achieving the better
terms and conditions that the drivers deserve."
He is also well aware that being a general secretary is not just about pay and conditions. Monks is concerned about environmental issues and is keen to promote the use of greener vehicles. He also sees training as a priority for his union, pointing out that URTU has traditionally had a good record of training its officers.
He is very positive about the future, reporting that URTU membership is increasing and predicting that this increase will accelerate, especially given the fact that the balance of power between employer and employee is tilting back towards the employee, thanks to the Employment Relations Act 1999.
The passing of this act means that it is a good time to be a general secretary—if there ever is a good time to be in that position— and, with the support of full-time staff and members alike, Bob Monks fully intends to grasp the opportunities that are currently open, both to him and his union.