Paul Holmes on Technology

His new found identity in blogosphere sits in marked contrast to the way that Holmes denies the existence of ICT in his own Branch. A well known technophobe, Holmes takes his hatred of technology to almost unbelievable lengths. He has banned the use of email and the internet in the branch and until recently refused to carry a mobile phone. In an attempt to rekindle a bygone past Holmes fails to appreciate the extent to which the world has changed and how the use of ICT can assist in building trade union organisation.

As the major trade union in the country UNISON has had a proud tradition of championing new ways of working – the first union to advertise on TV, the first to develop an interactive web site, the first to move to greener on-line administration, and ground breaking mobile technologies to keep organisers in the field.

Unreconstructed Holmes would set the union back years in his attitude towards ICT – which he persists in referring to as “new technology” even though it is at least 25 years old - would simply fail to connect with the next generation of trade union activists. Young activists have been brought up in the modern world and many will not have even heard of the Luddites and would certainly not want to see one as General Secretary of their trade union.