Role and future of trade union for lecturing purpose
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The unions are the subject of a new article published by Acas (written by his truly - apologies for shameless self-promotion) as part of his future workplace relations in the series of discussion papers. In the paper I rely on academic research to argue that unions continue to play an effective role in workers' representation, as reflected in the high (and growing) proportion of workers surveyed who believe that unions do an effective job, The constructive role of union representatives in helping to resolve complaints in the workplace, and higher wage levels received by members than non-members. However, unions face the reality of a growing trend among employers to use non-union mechanisms to communicate with their workers.
This situation has been aggravated by the development of a "single employer" system of labor law in recent decades, which has served to make employers in unorganized industries more hostile to unions. Unions may have to demonstrate that they can "add value" to a company's competitiveness to cushion the employer's resistance. The syndicate's agenda represents an opportunity for trade unions in this regard, as studies have highlighted the benefits of learning arrangements for trade unions, workers and enterprises. Trade unions also face considerable challenges in representing certain groups of workers in the current labor market. While the overall decline in membership has slowed in recent years, the vast majority of younger workers and new entrants to the labor market are not joining unions. The growth of short-term employment contracts, agency work and other forms of "atypical employment", and the tendency of companies to outsource their non-core activities with other enterprises, have made it increasingly difficult for trade unions to organize And create tough labor standards across industries.
These new realities make it even more important for unions to develop innovative strategies for organizing and negotiating. For example, unions may consider following the examples of Unite, CWU and others in organizing around supply chains and using procurement policies of large companies to influence the work practices of their suppliers. They could also examine strategies developed by GMB and UNISON to work with community and civil society organizations to reach out to workers in atypical jobs that have proved difficult to organize. As the paper argues, unions will undoubtedly continue to play a constructive and valuable role in representing workers, but the rapidly changing contours of the labor market make their ability to regulate labor standards in the future probably depend on the development of strategies Innovations along these lines.