Find out about trade unions, including what they are and the benefits of being a trade union member. Show A trade union is an organisation made up of members (a membership-based organisation) and its membership must be made up mainly of workers. One of a trade union's main aims is to protect and advance the interests of its members in the workplace. Most trade unions are independent of any employer. However, trade unions try to develop close working relationships with employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the employer and the trade union which identifies their common interests and objectives. Trade unions:
Trade union recognitionEmployers which recognise a union will negotiate with it over members' pay and conditions. Many recognition agreements are reached voluntarily, sometimes with the help of the Labour Relations Agency. If agreement can't be reached and the organisation employs more than 20 people, a union may apply for statutory recognition. To do so, it must first request recognition from the employer in writing. If this is unsuccessful, the union can apply to the Industrial Court for a decision. In considering the union's application, the Court must assess many factors including the level of union membership and the presence of any other unions. Often, the Court will organise a ballot among the affected workforce to decide whether recognition should be awarded. Throughout the process, the emphasis is on reaching voluntary agreement. Collective bargainingIf a union is formally recognised by an employer, it can negotiate with the employer over terms and conditions. This is known as 'collective bargaining'. For collective bargaining to work, unions and employers need to agree on how the arrangement is to operate. They might, for example, make agreements providing for the deduction of union subscriptions from members' wages; who is to represent workers in negotiations and how often meetings will take place. Both these agreements on procedure and agreements between employers and unions changing the terms applying to workers (like a pay increase for example) are called 'collective agreements'. Your contract of employment will probably set out which collective agreements cover you. It's possible that a union may negotiate on your behalf even if you're not a member. Joining a trade unionSome workers join a trade union because they believe that a union can:
Union members have the right to be accompanied to a discipline or grievance hearing by a trade union representative (although trade unions are not compelled to provide this). All employees, regardless of whether they are union members or not, are entitled to be accompanied by a work colleague.
Recognised unions also have rights to consultation where redundancies or a transfer of business are proposed. There is a regular subscription cost for union membership and different rates may apply to trainees and part-timers. Unions will not normally help with problems which pre-date membership. How to join a unionIf you want to join a recognised union in your workplace, you could approach a representative for information like the shop steward. Or, contact the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) to find out which union is relevant to you.
Trade union-related rightsThe law gives you the right to join a trade union wherever you work. This right applies whether a union has been recognised or not. You're protected from being disadvantaged for being a union member. Specifically trade union membership is an unlawful reason for:
The law gives you the right not to join a trade union. The same protection applies to you as it does to union members. In particular, employers are not permitted to operate a 'closed shop' (that is, make all workers join the employer's preferred union). An employer can't deduct payments from you, to a union or charity in lieu of union membership without your permission. BlacklistingYou can’t be discriminated against because you are in a union or because of your union activity. With rare exceptions, it’s also illegal to compile, use, sell or supply a ‘blacklist’ of union members that will be used to discriminate against you.
Trade union activitiesWhen a union is recognised by an employer, members have the right to time off at an appropriate time to take part in trade union activities. These may include:
You don’t have the right to be paid for any time spent taking industrial action. Where you can get helpThe Labour Relations Agency (LRA) and Advice NI offer free, confidential and impartial advice on employment rights issues. More useful linksThe important forces that make the employees join a union are as follows: 1. Greater Bargaining Power The individual employee possesses very little bargaining power as compared to that of his employer. If he is not satisfied with the wage and other conditions of employment, he can leave the job. It is not practicable to continually resign from one job after another when he is dissatisfied. This imposes a great financial and emotional burden upon the worker. The better course for him is to join a union that can take concerted action against the employer. The threat or actuality of a strike by a union is a powerful tool that often causes the employer to accept the demands of the workers for better conditions of employment. 2. Minimize Discrimination The decisions regarding pay, work, transfer, promotion, etc. are highly subjective in nature. The personal relationships existing between the supervisor and each of his subordinates may influence the management. Thus, there are chances of favouritisms and discriminations. A trade union can compel the management to formulate personnel policies that press for equality of treatment to the workers. All the labour decisions of the management are under close scrutiny of the labour union. This has the effect of minimizing favouritism and discrimination. 3. Sense of Security The employees may join the unions because of their belief that it is an effective way to secure adequate protection from various types of hazards and income insecurity such as accident, injury, illness, unemployment, etc. The trade union secure retirement benefits of the workers and compel the management to invest in welfare services for the benefit of the workers. 4. Sense of Participation The employees can participate in management of matters affecting their interests only if they join trade unions. They can influence the decisions that are taken as a result of collective bargaining between the union and the management.  6 reasons for joining a unionPeople who aren't in a union or don't know anyone in a trade or labor union often unsure what labor unions do and why someone would join. A labor union is an organization of workers formed to further the social and economic interests of its members.The nature of work in the world is changing. Employers are trying to shed responsibility for providing health insurance, good pension coverage, reasonable work hours and job safety protections. Perhaps a logical starting point is to ask this basic question: why do workers join unions? The fact is that there are almost as many reasons for joining a union as there are union members. I would like to focus the six reasons for joining a union.1. Economic reasonsFor higher wages, increased benefits, shorter hours and improved working conditions are certainly important reasons for joining a union.2. Job securityOne basic human need is security. In the work environment, employees find themselves in a dependent relationship on their bosses and on what they probably view as impersonal organizations. They want to know that their jobs will exist in the future and that they will be protected against unfair or arbitrary treatment. Anyway, with the growth of technological change, however, workers feel especially vulnerable to job loss. For example, several thousand robots are now being utilized in manufacturing, with continued growth expected for the use of robotics in the near future.3. Social reasonsMen and women are social beings. Therefore, workers have a strong need to be accepted by their peers, to belong, and to go along with others. Some unions offer attractive benefits, such as insurance. Peer pressure may also cause workers to join unions.4. RecognitionSome employees have found that the union structure offers them an opportunity to gain recognition not available to them in the business organization. For example, a worker with little education may serve on a shop committee or even be elected as a position of influence, such as steward or officer in the local.5. ParticipationMany workers have explained their union membership in terms of their desire to obtain a voice in decisions that affect them in their working environment. To other workers who feel lost in our large, complex, industrial society, the union is viewed as a last hope that they will be able to influence their destiny.6. CompulsionAside from social pressure to join a union, some workers become union members simply because the employment contract requires them to do so. It would appear that unions serve a broad network of employee needs.One of the big reasons workers join a union is to ensure fair treatment in the workplace. As a union member, you have a strong collective voice for negotiating with employers about pay & wages, work hours, benefits - including retirement plans, health insurance, vacation and sick leave, tuition reimbursement, etc., Union members earn more money, have better benefits, and help employers create a more stable, productive workforce in which workers have a say in improving their jobs. As you plan your future, consider where your best career opportunities are and how union membership can help. What do you think are the most important reasons why employees want unions? What can management do to respond to these concerns in advance of union organizing activity? The role of HR department in developing and maintaining harmonious working relations between employers and employees is very important. In many countries large proportions of the working population nowadays belong to labor unions. The HR strategy is to ensure that the organization “has (a) the right types of people, (b) in the right places at the right times, (c) doing the right things right.”We can see, therefore, that the reasons why employees join a union cannot be reduced to any single, uncomplicated statement. To the extent that people cannot find opportunities to satisfy those needs in the workplace, they tend to form unions. Some writers say that the existence of a union is an indictment of management’s failure to provide opportunities for need satisfaction at all levels of the organization. References: Hall, Douglas T. & Goodale, James G. (1986). Human Resource Management: strategy, design and implementation. London, England: Scott Foreman and Company. Joshi, Manmohan (2013). Human Resource Management (1st – ed). India: Manmohan Joshi & bookboon.com. Klatt, Lawrence A., Murdick, Robert G. & Schuster, Frederick E. (1985). Human Resource Management. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, A Bell & Howell Company. Sloane, Arthur A. & Witney, Fred (1997). Labor Relations (9th – ed). New Jersey: A Pearson Education Campany, Upper Saddle River. Wright, Erik O. (2009). American Society: how it really works. Madison, Wisconsin 53711: University of Wisconsin. Author: Pau L. Dal is from Burma (also called Myanmar). He is currently residing in the Philippines and who is a graduate student in Cavite State University (www.cvsu.edu.ph), Don Severino Delas Alas Campus, Indang 4122, Philippines. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in Education on (March 18, 2012), from McNeilus Maranatha Christian College, located in Kalaymyo, Myanmar. After graduated, he attained full-time employment for a year (May, 2012 to May, 2013) with the Myanmar Union Conference, Kalaymyo, Myanmar. Image: A majority of workers at Wellness Connection of Maine want a union, but their employer is resisting. They spoke out in April on hazardous working conditions and illegal use of pesticides, June 04, 2013.LABOR NOTES/ Jenny Brown. |
Which of the following is not a reason why employees join unions?
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