📰| 10. Trade Unions Flashcards
1
Q
Methods of Trade Unions
A
- Protests & Demonstrations
- Industrial Action
- Social Media
2
Q
Reasons Why Trade Unions Are Influential
A
- Strikes
- Public Support
3
Q
Reasons Why Trade Unions Are Not Influential
A
- Membership
- Lack of Public Support
4
Q
Reasons Why People Would Join a Trade Union
A
- Greater bargaining power
- Free Legal Advice
- Provide training for new skills
5
Q
Roles of Trade Unions
A
- Negotiate on behalf of workers
- Represent workers
- Influence Government policy
6
Q
Methods of Trade Unions:
Protests & Demonstrations
A
- One method used by trade unions is protests and demonstrations.
- Trade unions will hold protests and demonstrations to attract attention to their cause, with the aim of gaining public support to pressurise the government.
- For example, in September 2022 the Unite trade union held a protest in Glasgow against the alleged broken economy.
7
Q
Methods of Trade Unions:
Industrial Action
A
- One method used by trade unions is industrial action.
- Trade unions will often encourage overtime ban and members going on strike to put pressure on employers to enact change.
- For example, Scottish Water workers apart of the GMB, Unite and Unison unions striked for four consecutive days in November 2023.
8
Q
Methods of Trade Unions:
Social Media
A
- One method used by trade unions is social media.
- Trade unions will utilise various social media platforms to communicate their messages to the public in a more widespread way.
- For example, Unison has used their YouTube channel to campaign for higher minimum wage.
9
Q
Trade Unions Influential:
Strikes
A
- One way in which trade unions are influential is strikes.
- Strikes are very generally disruptive, so employers and the government wish to resolve them as quickly as possible which increases the chances of trade unions achieving their goals.
- For example, Scottish Water workers apart of various trade unions paused their second wave of strikes after receiving a new pay offer in November 2023.
10
Q
Trade Unions Influential:
Public Support
A
- One way in which trade unions are influential is public support.
- If the public support trade union’s aims and methods, this increases their influence over employers and the government who are more likely to meet demands as a result.
- For example, a YouGov survey in May 2023 found that 40% of Scots believe trade unions play a positive role in society compared to 25% who thought that they played a negative role.
11
Q
Trade Unions Not Influential:
Membership
A
- One way in which trade unions are not influential is membership.
- Trade union membership has declined over the years, and with less members trade unions become less influential due to less campaign participants.
- For example, only 28% of Scottish employees were apart of a trade union in 2018 compared to 40% in 1995.
12
Q
Trade Unions Not Influential:
Lack of Public Support
A
- One way in which trade unions are not influential is a lack of public support.
- Trade union’s methods, such as industrial action, can be very disruptive to society which can lead to blame falling on the trade union as opposed to the employer or government.
- For example, the Daily Mail has posted many articles criticising strikes which can heavily influence public opinion - ‘More strike misery as Scotland’s school staff vote to walk out amid ongoing pay dispute’ was published in October 2023.
13
Q
Reasons Why People Would Join a Trade Union:
Greater bargaining power
A
- One reason why someone would join a trade union is for greater bargaining power.
- The individual employee possesses very little bargaining power compared to their employer. However, the threat of a collective strike by a union is a powerful tool that often causes the employer to accept the demands of the workers for better conditions of employment.
- For example, In 2023, the Royal College of Nursing Scotland won nurses in Scotland a 6.5% pay rise by threatening to go on strike.
14
Q
Reasons Why People Would Join a Trade Union:
Free Legal Advice
A
- One reason why someone would join a trade union is for free legal advice.
- If you run into problems at work, your union’s legal team can make sure you are treated fairly – without you having to worry about paying.
- For example, In 2022, Prospect Scotland provided free legal advice to members employed by Scottish Power facing redundancy.
15
Q
Reasons Why People Would Join a Trade Union:
Provide training for new skills
A
- One reason why someone would join a trade union is for training of new skills.
- Trade unions run huge training and education programmes to help their members get the skills they need to get better-paid jobs. They also argue for employers to have better development programmes so that ordinary working people get chances for training and promotion.
- For example, Unite Scotland run free courses aimed at developing digital skills required for work and life.
16
Q
Roles of Trade Unions:
Negotiate on behalf of workers
A
- One role of trade unions is to negotiate on behalf of workers.
- Trade unions speak to employers to try and improve the pay, work conditions and health & safety of the workers they represent.
- For example, in 2023, the EIS successfully negotiated a pay rise with COSLA that will see the majority of teacher’s pay increase by 14% in 2024.
17
Q
Roles of Trade Unions:
Represent workers
A
- One role of trade unions is to represent workers.
- Trade unions can represent the interests of their workers in official settings when any areas of conflict arise.
- For example, in 2022, Unison won a landmark case that allows all workers to stand for election and take part in public political activity without fear of dismissal.
18
Q
Roles of Trade Unions:
Influence Government policy
A
- One role of trade unions is to influence government policy.
- Trade unions liaise with Government and attempt to influence policy decisions in favour of workers using their powers of collective bargaining.
- For example, in 2022, Unite opposed the Scottish Government’s draft National Care Service legislation which could see up to 75,000 staff lose their jobs.
