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Trade Unions - a future? “A trade union is an independant self-regulating
organization of workers created to protect and advance the interests of its
members through collective action.” Over recent years, it has become fashionable
in many quarters to write off Britain’s trade unions, to label them as obsolete
institutions out of touch with new realities and incapable of change. In today’s
world of individual employment contracts, performance-related pay schemes, Human
Resource and Total Quality Management and all the other ingredients of the
so-called ‘new’ workplace, trade unions are often regarded as anachronistic
obstacles preventing success of the market economy. As collective voluntary
organizations that represent employees in the workplace, it is argued, trade
unions no longer serve a useful purpose.
The main priority of this essay is to
represent the arguments for and against the relevance of trade unions in todays
working society. Furthermore, I shall comment on the future of the trade union
movement, based upon the facts and findings that helped construct this text.
Trade unions exist because an individual worker has very little power to
influence decisions that are made about his or her job. The greatest advantage
in joining a trade union is because, by doing so, individuals possess more
chance of having a voice and influence in their place of work. By joining forces
with other workers, an individual’s opinions and beliefs regarding their job
will also be voiced by other union members, thus creating a stronger stance
against management, if needed. Therefore, the main purpose of a trade union is
to protect and improve people's pay and conditions of employment. This objective
is usually achieved through negotiation and representation. Negotiation is where
union representatives discuss with management, issues which affect people
working in an organization.
The union finds out the members’ views and relays
these views to management. Pay, working hours, holidays and changes to working
practices are the sort of issues that are negotiated. However, not all views
will be taken on board by management; there may be a difference of opinion
between them and union members. Negotiation, therefore, is about finding a
solution to these differences. This process is also known as collective
bargaining. “In many workplaces there is a formal agreement between the union
and the company, which states that the union has the right to negotiate with the
employer. In these organizations, unions are said to be recognised for
collective bargaining purposes.” People who work in organizations where unions
are recognised are better paid, and are less likely to be made redundant than
people who work in organizations where unions are not recognised. Most
collective bargaining takes place quietly and agreements are quickly reached by
the union and the employer.
Occasionally disagreements do occur, and in these
cases the union may decide to take industrial action. “If the problem cannot be
resolved amicably, the matter may go to an industrial tribunal.” The purpose of
industrial tribunals is to make sure that employees and employers conform to
employment laws. They are made up of people outside the workplace who make a judgement about the case, based on the employee’s and employer’s point of view.
Cases that go to industrial tribunals are usually about pay, unfair dismissal,
redundancy or discrimination at work. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration
Service (ACAS) is often used to help find a solution to a dispute, which is
acceptable to both sides. “Its duty under the Employment Protection Act is to
promote the improvement of industrial relations and in particular to encourage
the extension of collective bargaining. Also to develop (and where necessary to
reform) collective bargaining machinery. Its main functions are: advisory work,
collective conciliation, individual conciliation, arbitration, and extended
investigation into industrial relations problems.” Individuals can be
represented by trade unions when they encounter problems at work.
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