Trade Unions and Industrial Relations Worksheet (Tutor Version)

This worksheet examines the current role of Trade Unions - the work they do, their members and their role in industrial disputes. It then goes on to consider good and bad employment practices and finally looks at the role of ACAS.

Step 1 - We're all in it together?

Trade Unions have been about in the UK for more than 200 years. To find out more about them, go to the TUC Company Facts section on Biz/ed and find out answers to the following questions:

What is a Trade Union?

An organisation that represents people at work. Their purpose is to protect and improve people's pay and conditions of employment. They also campaign for laws and policies which will benefit working people.

Why do people join unions?

The main reason people join unions is so that they can have better pay and working conditions and union protection if there is a problem at work. As part of a group they will be better represented than individually.

What is the TUC?

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is the national organisation which represents trade unions in Britain. It is made up of 74 unions with a combined membership of nearly 7 million workers. It was formed in 1868.

Step 2 - What "united groups" are there?

Use the TUC company facts section on Biz/ed to find out why unions belong to the TUC.

Trade unions are affiliated to the TUC because they know that acting together they will have a more powerful and effective voice if they work together to protect the rights of working people.

The TUC has a wide variety of members. Use the TUC web site (http://www.tuc.org.uk) to find out more about some of the unions that are affiliated. Try to find the 3 smallest and the 3 largest unions who are affiliated, and note down some details about them in the table below:

The pattern of membership of trade unions has changed considerably in the UK in the last 20 years. Unions reached their heyday in the late '70s and membership numbers have declined since. Use the TUC Company Facts section on Biz/ed to fill in the table and answer the questions below:

Why has this decline in membership happened?

1. a dramatic fall in the number of jobs in manufacturing industries where trade union membership was traditionally high
2. larger numbers of unemployed people
3. a fall in traditional full time employment and an increase in part-time and temporary workers
4. an increase in the proportion of the workforce employed by small businesses where it is often difficult for unions to organise
5. hostile legislation. The previous Conservative government introduced laws which make it more difficult for unions to operate and keep their members

Step 3 - The good, the bad and the ugly

Trade Unions are far more likely to become involved in a dispute where an employer is not behaving as a good employer should. The TUC Company Facts section on Biz/ed gives some examples of good and bad employment practices. Find these examples and note them down below:

Good employment practices?

• the employer has an active equal opportunities policy which seeks to eliminate discrimination and promotes equal treatment at work
• the employer recognises the union for collective bargaining and consults the union on issues that affect their members' interests
• the employer invests in the training and development of all staff
• working hours take account of the individual needs of employees, such as family commitments
• the employer guarantees job security for employees; in return the union recognises that jobs and working practices may be subject to change

Bad employment practices?

• employ staff on 2 year (729 day) contracts. Employers often do this because many employment rights only come into enforce when someone has been in their job for more than 2 years
• fail to have proper grievance and disciplinary procedures so that employees problems' cannot be dealt with fairly
• refuse to recognise the union for collective bargaining
• dismiss workers with no notice or redundancy pay
• make employees work long hours for low wages

An abuse of an employer's power may lead to an industrial dispute. Often these will be resolved by negotiation between the firm and the union representatives. However, more complex disputes can sometimes be more difficult to resolve, and it may even prove necessary to........................

Step 4 - Call in the mediators?

The principal organisation for mediation in disputes in this country is ACAS. Go to the ACAS web site (http://www.acas.org.uk/) to get the answers to the following questions:

N.B. You may find the publications section the most useful.

What does ACAS stand for?

Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service

What does ACAS seek to achieve?

• prevent and resolve employment disputes;
• conciliate in actual or potential complaints to industrial tribunals;
• provide information and advice;
• promote good practice.

What sort of problems can ACAS deal with?

Disputes on pay, unfair dismissal, equal pay, sex and race discrimination.

What 2 methods does ACAS use to try to prevent disputes arising?

1. Workshops
2. Joint working parties

If however, they cannot prevent a dispute and need to resolve it they try to use either 'conciliation' or 'arbitration'.

What is meant by conciliation?

Conciliation is voluntary and attempts through discussion and negotiation to enable the parties in dispute to reach their own agreement. ACAS conciliators have no power to impose, or even recommend, settlements.

What is meant by arbitration?

An independent arbitrator or board of arbitration will examine the case for each side and make an award

What effects would you expect a higher level of industrial disputes to have on the economy?

• Loss of output
• Reduced productivity - poor motivation among the workforce
• Loss of competitiveness due to above factors
• Slower progress towards more flexible and efficient working practices
• Perhaps higher inflation (cost-push) if wage settlements are higher?

Step 5 - A wage too far?

N.B. To complete this step you will have to have covered supply and demand theory.

As well as representing their members more generally, unions also act on their member's behalf in wage negotiations. The level of wages is determined by the interaction of supply and demand, as shown in the diagram below. W(1) is the equilibrium wage and Q(1) is the equilibrium quantity.

Draw clearly on the diagram the effect of a union pushing through a high wage settlement. Mark the level of unemployment that results.

What could a union do in their wage negotiations to overcome the negative effects on unemployment of a higher wage?

They could aim to build in changes in working practices and / or productivity agreements when negotiating. This would help to shift the demand curve to the right.