Trade Union Renewal

Trade Union Renewal examines the current state of the Irish Trade Union movement, the reasons for its decline and how it must re-imagine itself as a force capable of rolling back the frontiers of capital if it is to rally a new generation of workers to the cause of labour. The book argues that trade unionism must break into the new worlds of work by radically transforming contemporary trade union structures and culture which renders the movement largely alien to younger workers employed in the gig and digital economies. The author, who has spent a lifetime working for the trade union movement, argues that the demise of the trade union movement is neither foretold nor inevitable. However, the forces that have given rise to the contemporary workplace will not be overcome by workplace struggle alone. A successful strategy will necessitate the opening-up of new fronts. The trade union movement must use its considerable institutional strength to shape the very construct of work, bending the digital marketplace towards more democratic and communal wealth-sharing principals.