TSSA: Organising

the travel trade

Jessie Fenn
Regional Organiser
Background
 Thomas Cook was public sector! Part of the
railways. Sold off with rail.
 Two tier workforce- older long serving and new
young staff.
 Staff association. ASDA approach- PROUD values.
 Recognition for Thomas Cook. Other smaller
companies. TUI no go!
 Big issues, small resources
 Thomas Cook workers are lowest paid in TSSA
 Unpaid overtime, PRP, targets increasing, min. wage
 Young workers, no trade union history, bullying
 Travel trade team disbanded- doubled membership
but without sustained resource it collapsed
 Surprise - our highest profile campaign of 2009
 Totally member led
 All under 40 years old, all women bar two
 Most new to union action
Fake negotiations
 Company wanted to ‘streamline’ the business
 Reps proposed several alternative business plans
 Company revealed they wanted to close everything

 Organise! Speak to everyone…100% membership

Campaign begins
 Protest outside shop. T-shirts and placards
 Public support, press interest, petitions
 Take it to the boss!
 It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter heaven...
Take it to the public!
It’s a rich man’s world!
We’re not moving!
Planning and organising
International leverage -
from Belfast to Belarus
Using success to organise
Analysis
•Public support for all campaigns in travel trade
have had massive public support (and press).
•Real difficulty is in the industrial strength and
organisation - isolated in the industry.
•Hugely resource hungry- fear of retail organising.
•National campaign. Regional teams. Trained reps.
•Local strategic targets with winnable issues.
•Need to be more creative and use the public.
Thank you
Questions?
Comments?