3.4 - Trade Unions Flashcards
Trade union
An organised association of workers in a trade, group of trades, or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests
Collective bargaining
The process of negotiating over pay and working conditions between trade unions and employers
What have trade unions done for us? (name 3)
- two day weekends
- eight-hour working days
- maternity leave
- retirement ages
- paid holidays
Closed shop
A trade union membership is a compulsory condition of taking the job
- outlawed in many country as it can give the trade union too much power over the employer
Open shop
A firm can employ both unionised and non-unionised labour
Single union agreement
An employer agrees to a single union representing all its employees
The role of trade unions (name 2)
- Defending employees’ rights and jobs
- Improving working conditions, such as securing better hours of work and better health and safety policies
- Improving pay and other benefits, including holiday entitlement, sick pay and pensions
- Developing the skills of union members, by providing training and education courses
When and why do trade unions take action? (name 3 cases)
- Price inflation in the economy
- Pay rises in related industries
- Labour productivity of members has increased
- Firms are unfairly dismissing members
- A death occurs in the workplace
- The profits of the business has increased
Industrial dispute
When collective bargaining fails & discussions break down, trade unions have several methods of forcing employers/governments to continue engaging with the through industrial dispute
Overtime ban (industrial action)
Workers refuse to work more than their normal hours
Work to rule (inustrial action)
Workers deliberately slow down production by complying rigidly with every rule and regulation
Go-slow (industrial action)
Workers carry out tasks deliberately slowly to reduce production
Strike (industrial action)
Workers refuse to work and may also protest outside their workplace to stop deliveries and prevent non-unionised workers from entering
Impacts of industrial action (name 3)
- labour costs for firms will increase if wage costs increase after strike action
- output will reduce, supply will decline
- the revenue would also decrease due to the lack of working employees
- if the dispute was successful, their salaries should increase
Advantages of trade unions for workers (name 2)
- they protect jobs and security
- and working conditions
- can dictate wages and non-monetary benefits
- they prevent discrimination and exploitation
- they ensure training and educations opportunities
Disadvantages of trade unions for workers (name 2)
- have to pay a monthly fee for membership
- may be rejected from some firms because they are a part of a union
- trade unions may discourage individuality
- solely thinking as a group, never individually
Advantages of trade unions for firms (name 2)
- by creating a safer and more welcoming environment to employees, trade unions can increase labour productivity
- empowerment in the workplace improves employee motivation and produce
- employee training increases efficiency
- decreases costs
Disadvantages of trade unions for firms (name 2)
- since unions are included in workplace decisions, the time taken to implement changes increases
- trade union demands can increase salary and costs of production: destabilising revenue
- long employee vacations detrimentally decrease produce
Advantages of trade unions for the government (name 2)
- unions can aid a more equal and prosperous status to the country’s economy
- if a firm’s profit increases due to increased productivity; government receive more corporation tax
- higher wages caused by trade unions mean that workers pay more income tax
Disadvantages of trade unions for the government (name 2)
- industrial dispute is often very disruptive
- especially striker in essential labour markets
- government my find difficulty in attracting global frenchise businesses to invest in their country if industrial action is frequent
