Trade Union Density Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Trade Union Density - Assignment Example The main factors such as economic, social and political are examined in detail in relation to their effects on the trade union in UK. One of the underlying aspect of the trade union movement in UK has been the economic bargaining power of the combined unit of employees against the perceived unjust behavior of the capitalist class, which has been a key contentious issues within the labor union movement. This essay also examines issues of the future of the trade union, and the ways in which the future trade unions will behave and formulate their strategic direction in a global economy. One of the key conclusions of this research is that the although new technologies will present a threat to the trade union movement in UK, however the need for a fair system of checks and balances will be needed, and the role of the trade union in the industrial relations systems in UK will be increased. ... However, the industrial relations in UK have not always been highly regulated, as the owners of factories and business used their influence to exploit the working class (Karnes, 2009, Fishman, 2005). The industrial revolution in UK has a huge effect on the working class, as the population was then required to work on the shop floors and factories, rather than on farms (Williams, 1997, Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). Within this new environment, there was a rapid rise in the number of employees who has to proceed from medieval guilds of Europe to the modern trade union system, and saw the rise of the modern trade union in UK (Rose, 2008) 2 Factors Influencing Changes in Union Member Ship The first formation of the trade Union in UK was in 1987, by the royal commission, which was based on the notion of giving employees and employers equal benefits from this structure (Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). The trade unions worked as employee committees, which worked to improve the socio-econo mic conditions of the employees, and formed the basis of the Labor party (Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). The era of Margret Thatcher saw the powers of these trade unions being decreased, as the then prime minister worked to make strikes illegal. It was in this era that the trade union suffered, and number of members in the trade union started to fall in 1980 and 1990s, as employees saw other routes to get their grievances solved by the employer (Fishman, 2005, Laybourne, 1997, Wallis et al., 2005, Williams and Adam-Smith, 2009). This rise and fall in the last 40 years has been due to a number of factors, which have been characterized as economic, political