Trade Unions Essay, Research Paper

WHAT DO UNIONS DO? WHY DO EMPLOYEES JOIN UNIONS?

Union n.1. The status of being united, the act of uniting, or a concurrence formed by such an act. 2. An association, confederation, or alliance of persons or groups for a common intent, esp. political.

Wilkes 1998: pg. 1677

When speaking of the topic of Industrial Relations, the type of brotherhood that is most prevailing is that of a trade brotherhood. This chief focal point of this essay will be to specify what a trade brotherhood is, sketch its chief maps and specify why employees join trade brotherhoods.

Conflict is an of import word when one thinks of Industrial Relations. It can be argued that struggle is everyplace and inevitable in today & # 8217 ; s society. When one looks at workplace struggle, it can be broken down. On one side there is the employers, and on the other side, the employees. But taking a closer expression reveals that there is more than meets the eyes. In today & # 8217 ; s workplace, struggle consists of employer s associations, employers, authorities, employees and brotherhoods. This essay will concentrate on the employees side of struggle and more notably, the trade brotherhoods that the employees join. The essay will explicate what the trade brotherhoods do, the benefits the employees get out of trade brotherhoods and what the hereafter will keep for brotherhoods.

Trade brotherhoods are associations of workers established to better their economic and societal conditions. ( Funk and Wagnall s 1998: vol. 25 pg.429 ) . This definition, while really basic, is in kernel the chief map of a trade brotherhood. When looking at the history of trade brotherhoods, it can be seen to hold originated from the economic battles between workers and employers in the 19th century. ( Keeney & A ; Kelley 1995: pg. 220 ) . This means that employees for rather along clip have used the many maps that the brotherhoods provide.

The first subdivision of this essay will be to supply the basic maps of trade brotherhoods. Traditionally, trade brotherhoods have used a assortment of agencies to prosecute the involvements of their members direct dialogues with employers, system of conciliation and arbitration and assorted sorts of direct industrial action ( Mitchell & A ; Rosewarne 1982: pg.188 ) This essay will explicate the undermentioned maps ; selective benefits, corporate bargaining, arbitration, legal or political actions.

Unions, in some industries, have been able to take advantage of mandatory registration, but in many work forces today, registration in brotherhoods is optional. Therefore, in one work force, a brotherhood may talk on behalf of all employees, while in other work force it may talk on behalf of a limited figure of employees. ( Mitchell & A ; Rosewarne 1982: pg.188 ) When sing a work force with optional registration, it can be seen that there will be workers who are non portion of the workplace brotherhood. In this state of affairs, the brotherhood can take the chance to give selective benefits to those workers that are in the brotherhood. These benefits can be pecuniary. For illustration, a pupil brotherhood may offer price reductions to those enrolled. They besides provide services such as legal assistance, revenue enhancement advice, mortuary benefits, dental attention, educational programmes etc. These benefits are normally financed straight from brotherhood gross. The benefits may besides be psychological. For illustration, a brotherhood member may experience more secure of his occupation because he is portion of a brotherhood.

Another map that a brotherhood provides is that of corporate bargaining. Corporate bargaining is dialogues between employers and employees ( who are normally represented by a labour brotherhood ) about footings and conditions of employment. The bargaining procedure is concerned with rewards, working hours, periphery benefits, occupation security, safety, and other affairs associating to working conditions. ( Funk and Wagnall s 1998: vol. 6 pg.420 ) . When looking at the history of corporate bargaining in the Australian trade brotherhoods, it can be traced back to the 1890 s. The corporate bargaining in the signifier of dialogues with employers were the chief agencies by which brotherhoods sought to progress the life criterions of their members. But the failings of the brotherhoods and the breakability of corporate bargaining were viciously exposed by the work stoppages of the 1890s. ( Ford & A ; Plowman 1983, pg.77 ) Unions clearly acknowledge that industrial power entirely is deficient to coerce employers to dicker jointly, peculiarly in times of economic trouble. This is why, if one looks at brotherhood rank figures, they can clearly see that the points where rank is most high is when the economic system is enduring.

Another cardinal function that brotherhoods perform is that of arbitration. Arbitration is closely linked with conciliation or corporate bargaining. The history of arbitration can be seen to be manus in manus with corporate bargaining. When arbitration was formed the chief aim was to forestall work stoppages and lockouts. ( Ford & A ; Plowman 1983, pg.79 ) . In the Arbitration Act of 1904, the Court could exert its map foremost as a make-peace, so as an arbiter. In the even of arbitration, an award would be made which was lawfully adhering and enforceable in the tribunals. Punishments could be exacted for non-compliance. Since 1904, there have been many alterations to the system. The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act has been the topic of many amendments, some of which have brought important changes to the general construction of the system ( Ford & A ; Plowman 1983, pg.79. ) The development of arbitration has proven to be really of import when sing industrial dealingss.

Compuls

ory corporate bargaining and arbitration meant that unions no longer needed to blow their resources on long drawn out work stoppages, as was the instance before 1904. This led to brotherhoods going more necessary as their power increased. Nowadays, corporate bargaining and arbitration is still one of the most of import facets of brotherhood.

The last map that trade brotherhoods do is that of legal or political action. Unions represent their employees politically and lawfully. When one thinks of political actions, the most common idea would be of work stoppages. Strike, presents, are seen as a last resort when conciliation and so arbitration have failed. The most common and noteworthy happening of a work stoppage is that of the Waterfront Dispute of 1996. In this instance, the workers brotherhoods, as a last resort, decided to strike because they felt that they were below the belt dismissed. This is one of the political actions that brotherhoods do, in order for them to make a sympathetic consequence for their members. There are other signifiers of political actions that brotherhoods besides do. These include coercing the authorities by agencies of letters, runs or mass meetings. Governments besides rely on brotherhoods. In times of elections, it is obvious that if a political party can acquire on the good side of a brotherhood they will acquire their ballots and hence increase the opportunity of acquiring elected. A brotherhood will see this and utilize this in the brotherhood s favour by coercing the party to do favourable policies that benefit the workers of the brotherhood.

After explicating what the brotherhoods really do, the following portion of the essay will supply grounds as to why the workers really join the brotherhoods. Workers join brotherhoods because brotherhoods provide economic benefits, security, company and regard of others, understanding of issues that consequence the employees and ideological grounds. These maps provided by brotherhoods seem to be reasonably unvarying throughout the industries and it must be said, are non the lone maps provided by brotherhoods. This essay will now give a more elaborate lineation of these benefits that the employees get from fall ining a trade brotherhood.

The first benefit that will be explained is that of economic benefits. It has been antecedently highlighted that one of the chief functions that a brotherhood provides is that of selective benefits. Geting these benefits is a chief ground why the employees join their brotherhood.

The 2nd benefit is that of security. Today, happening a occupation is going progressively hard and an employee likes to experience that the occupation the employee has is secure. If the employee joins a brotherhood, the brotherhood will be able to supply the employee with this security. The brotherhood achieves this security by holding the power to speak to the employer and being able to supply aid ( legal or fiscal ) .

Company and regard of others is another of import facet. A brotherhood can be seen as a corporate group, and in any corporate group of workers, there will ever be people with involvements that are likewise. This means that brotherhoods will supply company and in bend this will supply employees with regard for the fellow colleagues.

The 4th ground that employees join brotherhoods is because brotherhoods are seen to understand the predicament of their workers. In a brotherhood, the members are made up of the workers, and the leader is normally voted by the members, hence, the involvements of the workers will be understood.

The last ground that will be explained is that of ideological grounds. This means that since the brotherhoods have been back uping the workers for rather a long clip, there is a certain political orientation that they have to fall in otherwise they will lose their occupations, lose benefits etc.

After explicating what brotherhoods do, explicating why employees join brotherhood, the last portion of this essay will be explicating the hereafter of brotherhoods. When looking at the hereafter of the brotherhoods, the first thing that must be noted is the downward spiral of brotherhood rank.

A STATISTICAL SNAPSHOT OF AUSTRALIAN UNIONISM

Union Membership:

+ 35 % of the entire work force are brotherhood members, compared with 50 % in 1982 and 42 % in 1988.

+ Since 1988, rank among laborers, works mechanics and drivers, and tradespersons has fallen be 10 per centum points in each instance.

+ Presently they are:

157 brotherhoods, compared with 188 a twelvemonth before, 299 in 1989 and 323 in 1985.

2.9 million fiscal members of brotherhoods, compared with a entire 3 million members a twelvemonth earlier.

Merely 19 % of teenage employees belonging to brotherhoods and 27 % of those aged 20-24.

Beginnings: ABS 6321.0, 6322.0 ( industrial differences )

These figures clearly show that brotherhood rank is diminishing, as is the saddle horse of brotherhoods. David Clarke, in his economic Jockey shortss of 1996 says It is now dominated by 13 mega brotherhoods with rank in the 100s of 1000s and possess 1000000s of dollars in assets. ( Clarke 1996: pg. 216 ) . Clarke goes on to state that the grounds for lessening in brotherhood rank is because of Structural alteration doing occupation diminutions, growing of catching and self-employment, feminization of the work force, high occupation mobility rate and insufficiency inside the brotherhoods. There are besides many other grounds why brotherhood rank is worsening, and the ACTU has felt it necessary to step in and halt this downward spiral. In 1997, the ACTU spent 40 million dollars on bettering managerial functions in trade brotherhoods. This means that, although the rank degrees are low, the brotherhoods themselves will still be a strong figure in the inevitable struggle between employees and employers.