1 Who are the members of trade unions?

What benefits can they receive from

union.membership? 
1.1 Trade unions may be composed of individual workers, professionals, past
workers, students, apprentices or the unemployed.
1.2 All workers benefit from unions, because unions set pay standards and
workplace protections. Union members — workers like you — benefit most from
the union's collective bargaining power to negotiate with employers on their
behalf. This basic right gives you as a union member more power than if you tried
to negotiate as an individual. 
More benefits of union membership.

 Union employees make an average of 30% more than non-union workers.

 92% of union workers have job-related health coverage versus 68% of non-
union workers.
 Union workers are more likely to have guaranteed pensions than non-union
employees.

2.  With which other bodies do trade unions interact, and for what purposes?

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:

 negotiate agreements with employers on pay and conditions

 discuss major changes to the workplace such as large scale redundancy
 discuss members' concerns with employers
 accompany members in disciplinary and grievance meetings
 provide members with legal and financial advice
 provide education facilities and certain consumer benefits such as
discounted insurance

3.What impact might strong trade unions have on the economy

Practical research clearly shows that unions do increase the salaries of their
members in comparison with the salaries of non-union members, although the size
of this wage increase varies by profession, industry, race and gender. These
estimates of the wage benefits that union members have are likely to be
underestimated, as the latter receive far more additional benefits than non-union
workers. This means that union members more often than non-union members
receive pensions from private enterprises, insurance of medical expenses and
expenses for treatment and prosthetics, paid leave and sick leave, etc. In cases
where both members and non-union members benefit from supplementary
payments, the former receive larger benefits. Therefore, the benefits in earnings
(wages plus additional payments) of union members as a whole are greater than the
above 15%.