TRADE UNIONS
Features of Trade Unions
Types of Trade Union
A trade union is an organisation which represents workers. There are four main types:
Craft unions representing skilled workers from one occupation. For example, SOGAT 82 (printers) and the AUEW (engineering).
General unions representing mainly unskilled workers from many occupations. For example the TGWU (Transport and General Workers' Union).
Industrial unions representing mainly workers in one industry. For example, the NUM (miners' union)
Professional or white-collar unions representing skilled workers in mainly service industries. For example, the NUT (teachers' union).
Functions of Trade Unions
Trade unions aim to:
Improve the pay of workers.
Improve working conditions and secure longer holidays.
Protect members' jobs.
Provide local, social and welfare facilities.
Influence government policy by sponsoring Members of Parliament and contributing money to political parties.
Organisation of Trade Unions
Each trade union has its own internal organisation. Generally:
Small groups of workers elect a local spokesman (shop steward).
Every area has a branch which sends delegates (representatives) to a yearly national conference.
Conference passes resolutions (policies) and elects a national executive. Only the national executive can call an official strike.
The entire membership elects a general secretary. The general secretary acts as the union's spokesman and manages everyday affairs, usually until he reaches retirement age.
The Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is made up of over 90 unions representing more than 9 million members. An annual conference decides overall union policy and elects the General Council. The General Secretary of the TUC is the trades union spokesman in any negotiations with the government or employers' organisations. The TUC has no power to initiate or halt an individual union's industrial action.
Employers Associations
Collective Bargaining
In the nineteenth century workers used to negotiate their own pay and conditions with their employers. Collective bargaining occurs when workers allow the union to negotiate on their behalf. Negotiations can be with an individual employer or an employers' association.
Types of Dispute
Disputes can arise over pay, working conditions, redundancies or restrictive practices which include:
A closed shop when a union insists that all workers in a place or work are members.
Demarcation when a union insists that only their members do certain jobs.
Blacking goods when the union refuses to handle goods produced by a firm in dispute with a union.
Over-manning when the union insists on a large number of workers for one job.
Industrial Action
If negotiations break down employers may lose output while workers may lose some pay. More often than not a compromise is found. However, sometimes one party resorts to industrial action. Unions can:
Work to rule and do the bare minimum of work.
Impose an overtime ban and refuse extra work.
Strike and refuse to work altogether.
Mount a picket line outside their place of work and ask other trade unionists not to enter.
Employers can operate a lockout and refuse workers entry or they can dismiss striking workers to breach of contract.
Recent Legislation
Recent legislation has severely weakened trade union power as follows:
An employer can now sue a union for lost profits if industrial action is taken without an initial secret ballot of workers.
Industrial action can be taken only against the original employer and not against his suppliers or buyers.
Mass picketing is unlawful. Only a handful of strikers are allowed to man a picket line, peacefully.
Arbitration
Arbitration is when employers and the unions agree to an independent referee to try to find common ground.
Since 1974 an independent Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has been available to help solve disputes.
In the 1980s and 1990s there have been an increasing number of single-union agreements where employers negotiate with only one union. Pendulum arbitration is used to settle a dispute where an independent referee chooses one side or the other.