Trade Unions Flashcards
Trade unions act as
Labour market institutions
A social movement
Interest groups
Why do workers join Unions?
Collective voice Improve pay and working conditions Protect existing jobs Influence management's plans Instil sense of identity Strive for equal opportunities Reduce pay differentials
Criticisms of trade unions are:
They exercise too much political power
They are no longer required
They restrict competition and inhibit the free market
They help insiders not outsiders
Describe the voice effect (Kersley et al, 2006)
Unions protect workers and provide collective representation
They reduce quit rates so save money for HR
Provide efficient channels of comms for management
Collective bargaining of wages could save time
More equal opportunities
Describe the monopoly effect (Freeman and Medoff 1984)
Unions can control three main things: the supply of labour, working hours and labour cost
Which types of markets are unions more integrated into?
Co-ordinated market economies and State-led market economies not so much Liberal market economies
Union densities are ______ across industrialised world
Falling
But institutional and legal structures often favour union influence particularly in CMEs
What is collective bargaining? Use Gospel and Palmers 1993 definition…
Trade Unions and other collective bodies represent groups of employees and negotiate with employers to reach collective agreements
What are the levels of collective bargaining?
National (whole workforce)
Sectoral (multi employer)
Company (single employer)
Plant or establishment
According to Kersley et Al 2006 what are managements opinions of trade unions across the UK?
23% support
60% neutral
17% against
Webb (1926) described trade unions as
A continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their working lives
