Group activities

1 a craft or industrialised union

b white collar union
c general union
d industrial union e industrial union f craft union

2 a A union representing firefighters. They provide an essential service. People can do

without flowers for a period of time.
b A union representing skilled workers. It is more difficult to replace skilled than unskilled
workers.
c A union striking during a period of low unemployment. In such a situation, it would be
difficult to replace the workers on strike.

Individual activities

1 a The university lecturers were advancing the comparability argument – comparing their
pay with that of a head teacher and that of a doctor. b University lecturers are in a
white-collar union.

Four-part question

a A trade union is an association of workers designed to protect them from, for example,
redundancy and to improve their wages and working conditions.

b Trade union membership may decline if government legislation reduces the power of trade
unions to take industrial action. Banning strikes, for example, may reduce the bargaining
power a trade union has in negotiating on behalf of their members. This may make it less
worthwhile to join a trade union. Trade union membership may also fall if there is a rise in
unemployment. There would be fewer people in a position to join a trade union and some of
those still in employment may be afraid of joining a trade union in case employers would
make members redundant before non-members.

c A trade union will be stronger if it has a high number of members. This will increase the
funds available to the trade union to pursue its objectives. If the trade union has not only a
high number of members but also a high proportion of the number of workers employed, it
will make it more difficult to replace striking workers with new workers. It will also increase
the strength of its claim to represent the interests of the workers. A high level of economic
activity strengthens a trade union. This is because there will be a high level of employment.
Employers will want to recruit more workers and to retain existing workers. This is likely to
make employers more willing to increase wages and working conditions. Government
legislation may favour trade unions. If laws give trade unions the right to strike and take
other industrial action, the trade unions will be in a more powerful position to pursue their
aims. Trade unions that represent skilled workers tend to be in a stronger position than those
representing unskilled workers. This is because it will be more difficult to replace skilled
workers with other workers or machinery. Trade unions representing workers in essential
services, such as the fire service, may also be in a stronger position than a trade union
representing, for instance, people working in florist shops. This is not only because cut
flowers are a luxury that people can do without but also because people working in florists
tend to get together less frequently than firefighters.

d Trade unions may benefit workers. They can negotiate on behalf of their members for
improved pay, good pensions and better working conditions. Bargaining as a group gives
greater strength than bargaining on an individual basis. The trade union officials may bring
expertise to the bargaining process and can concentrate on negotiating for shorter working
hours, for instance. Trade unions can provide their members with information about their
rights and protect them against unfair redundancy. They may also run educational courses
for members and provide some university scholarships. They can provide legal advice and
represent members at employment tribunals. They can also help prevent some workers from
being discriminated against. In addition, trade unions may help workers by persuading the
government to introduce policy measures that benefit them, including introducing or
increasing a national minimum wage and reducing the maximum number of hours that
workers have to work each week. There may, however, be cases where trade unions do not
benefit workers. There is a risk that trade unions may push the wage rate too high, which
may result in redundancies. If unions call workers out on strikes, the workers will lose pay
from the employers. They may not receive any strike pay from the trade union and the
strikes may not be successful. Industrial action may cause some firms to go out of business
and this can also result in workers losing their jobs. Workers pay membership fees to belong
to a trade union. If the trade union is weak or does not have a good relationship with the
employers, this may not be money well spent. Trade unions negotiate for the same pay for
groups of workers on the same level and some individual workers may think they should
have higher pay than their fellow workers.