The Impact of Trade Unions (Edexcel IGCSE Economics)

Types of Trade Unions

• A trade union is an organisation that represents the interests of its workers in negotiations with a firm’s management or owners

• The interests of the worker include

  • Wage and non-wage benefits of employment

  • Health and safety in the working environment

  • The reduction of discrimination and worker exploitation

• Trade unions are usually formed by the members of specific industries

  • Airline pilots have a pilots' union

  • Rail and sea workers have a rail and maritime union

• If there is no specialist union for an industry, most economies have a number of general unions which any worker can join, e.g. In the UK, UNISON is the largest trade union

  • It represents workers from across the public sector, including those working in local government, education and health

• All trade unions can be classified into one of four categories
  

Types of Trade Unions

Work of Trade Unions

• Workers pay a monthly fee to join a trade union

  • The fee is called a subscription

  • Their membership ends when they stop paying this fee

• Benefits of union membership include:

  • Collective bargaining

  • Job-specific training

  • Legal representation in disputes

  • Discounts on a wide range of goods/services

• When collective bargaining fails and discussions break down, trade unions have several methods of forcing employers/governments to continue engaging with them

• These methods are collectively referred to as industrial action and include

  • Strikes

  • Overtime bans

  • Work to rule

  • Go-slows

Impact of Trade Unions

• Trade union intervention changes the equilibrium wages and employment in the labour market

  • Through collective bargaining, workers have the power to increase wages

  • Through negotiation, trade unions can change the rate of employment

The Focus of Trade Union Efforts