GMB are right to do this. As far as they are concerned it's an open and shut case. The pubcos are guilty as charged and there's no getting away from it.

However, politically, the rest of the world cannot accept this and Mediation is a big step forward. There is NO chance that the status quo is going to be overturned in a hurry, so

Some excellent obsrvations here. It is entirely understandable that some people who are employers are sceptical about unions being interested in the tied pub industry. We are employers, why should we need a union to represent us? WELL.

Look at it like this: Where did unions come from and why do they exist? They came out of situations where many individuals were treated unfairly and, as individuals, they had no power to stand up to the people incharge who were treating all of them unfairly. Unions were born out individal people's essential need to have their views heard against oppressive, overbearing and recalcitrant employers' desire to keep their employees earning less than they're worth and to keep costs down and wages low.

The pub industry is made up mostly of huge, incredibly powerful corporations engaging many thousands of ordinary individuals in their activities for the goal of profit, whether they are managed individuals working directly or the corporation, or tied or free trade lessees. It is widely agreed that there is no one voice in this industry which adequatley stands up for the individuals who work in pubs, whatever their tenure.

We have all heard the calls for a need for this industry to 'unite' and to some great extent this is exactly why the unions, GMB and Unite, are interested. There is no unity at all in this industry and in such a situation unions know they can create, as Gilbert says above, order out of chaos.

Once upon a time the LVAs did stand for something (well before my time!) but that's long gone and there's no Body left untainted by decades of the BIG BAD corporate behaviour of the giga pubcos making old fashioned brutes such as the breweries of yore look like benvolent aunties gossiping at a vicar's cucumber sandwich and leaf tea party.

Fact is a new 'Body' (representative of we individual lessees) IS sorely needed for this industry because the industry is DYING for the lack of just such a Body. Pubcos pillaging this industry the way they have would simply not have been achievable had there been any effective representatives standing up for thousands of individual lessees' needs.

As for GMB's stance on the 'Mediation' process goes, there's a number of issues to dealk with: GMB were not invited to the first party but Unite were. One might say that Unite ought not to have sent back thier own rsvp without first being sure that GMB had been invited too. Unite and GMB are on competition with each other over wanting to increase membership, wanting to take up a potentially historically huge hot potato that no one else has had the nerve to touch because pubcos are so succcessful, so in charge, so on the litigious denial of reality ball.

a high championing

has no strong representation Ring any bells?