The Evolution and Challenges of British Trade Unions

Backdrop

Starting from the medieval craft society to the modern day era, British Trade Unions have played their roles in shaping up the various industrial relations and revolutions in Britain. These trade unions could be attributed to the rise of trade growths and unionism and have thereby contributed to the progression and development of the economic structure of the concerned country. From almost the 18th century these unions have heavily relied on voluntary services for consultations and negotiations (Pelling, 2016). Slowly, with the rise of industrial disturbances including strikes, rise in wage demands, activations of various labor laws there have been constant problems and disintegration within these trade unions. The various problems thus faced have been discussed below in accordance with the present circumstances revolving in and around Britain.

Political issues faced by the trade unions

In Britain around 6 million people were the members of trade unions in 2018, which showed a decline of 50% membership from the year 1979. Such decline indicates several factors, among them political factors have also grabbed considerable attention. In the 1980s the political reforms impacted the power of trade unions negatively. Their influence reduced substantially due to privatizations, globalization, various technological changes and a few other factors. Great shift in membership has weakened the power of trade unions. In recent times many such trade unions in the UK are found to focus on safeguarding working conditions and pays of well-paid employees instead of poorly paid servants (Nationalarchives.gov.uk, 2020). The unionization rate in professional organizations differs greatly compared to the lower paying ones. Because of political interventions in the UK a falling rate of unionization has been recorded along with a decline in collective bargaining agreements. This change has resulted in dispersed wages across various occupations and regions.

Improved unionization can improve the pay rates in the UK significantly. As opined by McIlroy et al. (2018), in the recent past the Bank of England showed that the wage growth of the nation lowered by 0.75% in each year. Trade Union as a topic has received a blow as it was viewed politically. The Labor party experienced a loss in the fourth election and that in turn has weakened its allies. The present political scenario has resulted in increased irrelevance in trade unionism. The Labor party has not been enough to work on wage issues. More promising policies to improve the economic situation of such laborers are expected from the government.

Challenges faced due to the economical crisis

The challenges faced by the British Trade Unions lately include not only political but economical issues as well which if not handled with utmost precision may impose greater disturbances in the future. The up changing globalization along with the impact of recession worldwide and neo-liberal politics have resulted in disintegration of the strategies and frameworks implemented by these trade unions. In accordance with Hodder et al. (2017), the current economic crisis faced by Britain resulted in a huge number of unemployment and reduction in wages as well as the benefits that could be availed earlier. In such circumstances it becomes almost impossible for the trade unions to please their members. The decline in the financial state of the country also disabled these unions from providing incentives to their prospective members in order to attract them.

The harsher economic crisis would be, the more challenges these trade unions would face. The financial crunches also affect the trade unions in losing more members because they often rely on big membership subscriptions which could be the primary source of their income (Grady and Simms, 2019). With the fall of membership subscriptions, the income of these unions would drop without substitutive measures like decreasing voluntary activities or through collection of revenues from other means.

Problems faced by the unions regarding policies and regulations

With the ongoing up gradation of the labor market with respect to the regulations and law there have been structural changes in the socio-cultural as well as economical platforms. Changes in the institutional environment such as collective bargaining patterns, procedures involving legal and arbitrational elements have been affecting the British trade unions vastly (Striking-women, 2020). There have been worries regarding the strategies sketched out by the state and the employers with respect to the employees concerned.

Internal conflicts:

Trade unions have recently faced a crisis regarding the density in their employees’ population. With the arising numbers of services, more and more people have been concerned in joining the service offered than to indulge themselves into trade unions. This has resulted in the decaying crisis of their membership density. This can also be traced back to the reduction of mobilization capacity and lowered interest representation. Challenges also include the framework of these unions itself.

There have been internal complications regarding the undemocratic leadership possessed by the trade members, their ways of task management, relationships among the members themselves, the networking channel and the organizational movement. As influenced by Prosser (2020), these unions could also face extinction if not managed and handled efficiently by the works. The balances between serving both the employers and the workers have been a major problem regarding these unions. Catering to the needs of workers without sidelining the employers needs to be incorporated for easy and smooth running of the British trade unions. Also, the lack of working with enough employers affects the productivity adversely. They have also been facing an organizing crisis due to inability to arrange new workplaces and new workers like prior times. This results in driving away workers from certain trade unions.

Inter Union rivalry:

Another problem faced by the trade unions involve inter union rivalry due to the presence of multiple unions under the same establishment. To gain much wider influence among the workers, these unions have been opting to revolute against one other. These often results due to the dominance of external leaders, the intention of various political parties to hold their stands by making the workers their platforms, even often due to the self-interest of the employers that may include diversion of the workers to rule over them or even the influences of local union leaders and lastly the presence of weak legal framework that have been surrounding the trade unions (Isj.org.uk, 2020). With the inter rivalry among the trade unions, the weakening of collective bargaining along with the slowdown of trade union progression in the country because one union obstructs the functioning of other unions to make them inefficient.

The necessity of collective bargaining in industrial operation

Collective bargaining for employers and workers plays a significant role in managing effective employee relationship with employer (Ajayi et al. 2016). In other words, it determines employee performance improvement within industrial area along with complete procedure that is mainly initiated by a group of employees, included in the trade union that encompasses the fundamental rights and requirements of the workforce before the authority of the enterprise. For example, the aforementioned league of workmen specifically enhances the resolution of the matter of issues interlinked with medical security, apprenticeship, and supplementary work schedule and functioning duration (Scott, 2016).

On the other hand, collective bargaining is an essential part of International Labor Organization, as stated by the United Nations (Okharedia, 2019). It has been utterly responsible for labor concerning difficulties, caused by any legal infraction in all over the world, as it is established in the year 1946 after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Apart from these, the process of collective bargaining is done while following the segments such as the proposition of negotiation, proffering initial petitions, and regulatory execution of the settlement through authoritative approval.

Cooperative alliance as an end of employer’s embezzlement

Employees are predominantly prioritized by the initiation of collective bargaining, as the United Association combat and strive for their enhancement and legitimized claim and freedom to work. The motive of the Union is based on the development of the workers while preventing the exploitation on derogatory violence injected by the authority (Jandrić, 2020). The employees reduce their approach to resignation from the ascribed jobs while demanding the appropriate reimbursement related to remuneration and health preservations as the implementation of collective bargaining through the group of workers has ensured the mitigation of operational shut down by the employees.

On the other hand, the employers are also immensely benefited by the previously mentioned applications as the suffering due to interruption in the workplace is detained by its approach. The policy of collective bargaining enables the workers to conduct any query regarding their work and rights interrelated to their employment (Johnston and Land-Kazlauskas, 2018). It demonstrates that most vital contribution of the proceeding of this act is that it completely alleviates the hierarchical infringement of dismissing an employee for trivial causes of delight.

Collective bargaining as an unbiased support structure for each party

Both of the employers and employees need to participate in upgrading the attributions of the organizational product by acquiring the legal appropriateness through enforcing the communal interchange (Ilo.org. 2020). It can be recognized that collective contract is a modified amendment that can be altered in every 2-5 years. The Shift of standard provision, contemplated by the association improvises the range fiscal expansion with the efficient and satisfied work body, obtaining the refined aspects of lifestyle and cooperating with the leadership of the upper management.

Apart from that the activation of negotiation by the mentioned union has infused a great impact on both the perspective of employers and employees through a practical appliance of judiciary and conveyable agreement (Keller, 2020). In this regard, collective bargaining builds connectivity between the authorization section and the labor sector of a venture while exercising the political and judicial components regarding the rights and liability of the employees and employers.

Moreover, the unlawful policies like introspecting the worker’s email, phone call, internet usage, voicemails, and many other confidential entities in the name of demanding allegiance from them but collective bargaining prevents the unjust appliance of this procedure to a protected extent for the employees. On behalf of the organization managing director, it also administers the code of fidelity from the workers as well.

The complete emergence of the employment by collective bargaining

The implication of united assistance on behalf of justification, attributed to the work ethics and work productivity has retained the indispensable recruitment of a workforce, without being prejudiced about the sexuality, caste province, and other personal restrictions of the candidate (Hellstrand, 2016). In relation to that the selective comprehension of the applicants is judged through their skill, well briefed and methodical accessing capacity for the company’s advancement. Hence, it can be acknowledged as an evolutionary achievement of the venture ideology. At the same time, collective bargaining enhances a sustainable development of the trade-in terms of growth of consumer rate and remuneration prospects of the workforce as well as productive output being equivalent with the benefits provided to the workers.

Collective Bargaining agreement does not come with guarantee

There are collective bargaining contracts which do not provide benefits for any of the two parties involved. Some agreements even do not demand for productivity and this causes difficulties in obligating the workers to produce. Employees are allowed to negotiate with the workers regarding wages (Euro found, 2020). Such agreements are often found to lock the parties into long-term conditions without any financial security. Moreover, some are declared to be invalid upon investigation.

Collective Bargaining often utilized as Political Tool

It is often found to be in association with political efforts regarding fundraising at democratic level. At times discrimination in political backdrop used as a mean to regulate the workers conveniently to cope with the expectation of the employer (Euro found, 2020). In other words discrimination among democrats and republicans is quite evident in collective bargaining process.

Collective bargaining process does not include fair representation

At some workplaces a few workers are found to consume the majority of wages creating inequality within the organization. Union jobs are better in terms of cost pay compared to non-union ones (Economics Discussion, 2020). In some cases non-union staff do not get represented and also fall under certain agreements.

Workers are required to perform jobs outside working hours

Collective bargaining agreements bound all the parties to abide by the contract guidelines. The workers are not allowed to expect anything beyond the contract until it is not over (Bertolini, 2018). Many such agreements are found to fall outside the governance ethics. The workers are often forced to work for extra hours and that too without pay concerning the profitability of a corporation.

To receive representation workers need to pay dues

Several unions are often found to demand for dues from the employees. Mostly the dues are collected directly from the pay cheque. In some cases the union is seen to take 4% of the salary amount of a worker (Economics Discussion, 2020). In addition to this no guarantee is there regarding the services from the union against this pay.

Through the process of collective bargaining Personal Differences are lost

Under the negotiation process many workers as a team come together to work for a particular purpose so often individual needs are sacrificed. The agreement concerns a collective or majority decision and does not consider individual views.

Workplaces are subjected to changes and multiple tensions

Union workers are often found to complain more and hamper the work environment. Moreover, unfair representation, unequal opportunities, and other discriminations cause tension in the work environment (Economics Discussion, 2020). Collective bargaining demands for effective workforce yet occupied by imbalance.

The advantages are productive often when amalgamated with fair negotiation skills. Some of such contracts are more beneficial than the others. Overall intention behind collective bargaining needs to be productivity alongside employee security.

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References

Ajayi, S.O., Oyedele, L.O., Akinade, O.O., Bilal, M., Owolabi, H.A., Alaka, H.A. and Kadiri, K.O., 2016. Reducing waste to landfill: A need for cultural change in the UK construction industry. Journal of Building Engineering, 5, pp.185-193.

Bertolini, A., 2018. Experience of labour market disadvantage: a comparison of temporary agency workers in Italy and the UK.

Isj.org.uk. 2020. British Trade Unions And The Emergence Of “Legal Unionism”: The Structural Limits Of The “Official Lefts” – International Socialism. [online] Available at:

Jandrić, M., 2020. Measures of de facto employment protection legislation. Management: Journal of Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies, 25(1), pp.23-36.

Johnston, H. and Land-Kazlauskas, C., 2018. Organizing on-demand: Representation, voice, and collective bargaining in the gig economy. Conditions of work and employment series, 94.

Keller, B., 2020. Employment relations without collective bargaining and strikes: the unusual case of civil servants in Germany. Industrial Relations Journal, 51(1-2), pp.110-133.

McIlroy, J., Fishman, N. and Campbell, A. eds., 2018. British Trade Unions and Industrial Politics: The high tide of trade unionism, 1964-79. Routledge.

Nationalarchives.gov.uk. 2020. The National Archives | Exhibitions | Citizenship | Struggle For Democracy. [online] Available at: