The challenges in the 21st century and where the trade unions currently lie - Essay Example

Introduction Trade unions are groups which represent the rights of workers and employees. The purpose of thisessay is to give a detailed understanding of trade unions and how they operate. Also, this essay focuses on the problems and challenges faced by the unions in the 21st century along with the changes which are needed in the unions in today’s era. The essay has various elements including the way unions work and the purpose of the initial unions to the purpose of these unions today along with the external influences such as privatization and globalization which have had a huge impact on the unions. Trade unions and how they operate Trade unions or labor unions are labor organizations which aim for the betterment of the labor force. Various employees join the trade union and are known as its members. Basically, the union focuses on achieving the common aims and goals by the employees such as higher wages and better working conditions. Solely, a worker or an employee has almost no control over the employer and therefore, he/she has a very less control in the work that he/she is doing. For example, if an employee asks the employer to increase the wage, the employer is likely to reject this demand put forward by the employee. However, a trade union has a greater say and a greater power against the employer as there are several members attached to the organization. The aim of this essay is to point out the key reasons for the fall in the importance of labor unions. Also, the reasons for a constant trade union membership decline are discussed. There are several problems which the unions face in the 21st century which are due to globalization and these changes and the reactions needed by the unions are disxussed. A trade union leader has the power to negotiate with the employer. However, the decision will not be totally in the favor of the union but the laborers will be better off through bargaining. Usually, the issues put forward by the union leadership include higher wagers, better working conditions, fringe benefits, safety at work, promotion policies and policies for firing the employees. The trade unions received a lot of popularity in the 18th century after originating from Europe as a hope for the employees. It started developing after the industrial revolution. The initial was to make the laborers better off but this quickly changed as trade unions started developing for professional employees and for skilled employees. The unions usually call for a strike when their demands are not met by the employers. "Trade Unions Towards the 21st Century ; European Trade Union Institute." Transfer : European Review of Labour and Research. 3.3 (1997): 464-605. Print. Trade unions were initially required for the low skilled workers, however, the basic focus changed and it became a community for the people who are working in a similar company or in a similar field. While representing the different types of employees, the unions grew in numbers and the movement started in several different countries. The old rules applied to the older trade unions and the 21st century changed the entire foundation for the unions. Even though there are several unions still available for professional skilled employees and for unskilled laborers, the old policies don’t apply the new era. The industrialization age has been long gone and today, a different set of rules apply for both, the employers and for the employees.. The challenges in the 21st century and where the trade unions currently lie The main thing that needs to be understood is that there in the current era, businesses and employers no longer come under the same old strategies by the unions. They need to lower their costs and they will do so by keeping a low wage for the employees. The unions, today, have a relatively less power in negotiating against the employers. As the number of members decreases, the unions’ power to bargain falls with it. They no longer have the potential to face the employees for the interest of the remaining union members. Even a strike would mean a very few number of people protesting against the business which would not be of significant importance to the firms and the employers. The unions no longer have the ability which they had and therefore, these existing unions are somewhat useless for the current members. The employers and the firms, feeling the local and international competition in reducing the prices, is less willing to act according to the union demands for an increase in wages and the fringe benefits than in earlier years. These are also is much more interested in facing the unions' attempts for the betterment of the workers. Strikes were somewhat common in the earlier years which caused the employers to accept the demands of the unions. Today, it is of no importance and it is like an act which is ignored by the firms. They, in turn, would fire the employees who attempt to start a strike against the management. Automation is a growing problem for union employees and members. Also, a lot of older factories have introduced labor-saving Capital focused machinery to perform tasks previously done by the laborers. The major change and the challenge that most of these trade unions have been facing for the last 10 to 15 years is the heavy privatization of national industries. Most of the government based industries have been privatized and hence, these are run by a different sector which is called the Private sector. This heavy change from the public to the private sector has changed the foundations of the industries and the private sector has a very different approach to operate the industries. Therefore, the employees, who previously worked for the government based companies, are now working for a different set of people and they find their bosses or their employers to be quite different from their previous employers. The private sector has a very profit orientated approach towards working which includes cutting down the cost to the minimum level. However, the government industries did not have such a motive and they only aimed for a service or social welfare while just breaking even with their revenues and costs. One of the key aims of the government owned companies is to provide job opportunities and the employees are treated equally. They have fixed rate of wages which means that they will earn a constant minimum specific amount regardless of the work done. The public sector only aims to generate a basic income for these employees. However, in the private sector, usually the employees get the income depending on their work. This was a historic approach which meant that the money factor or the income factor leads to a greater work done by the employees therefore, they try to work their maximum as they are attracted towards higher incomes. This was the difference that most of these employees faced due to privatization and several other rules and regulations changed including the rules for hiring and firing the employees. For example, employees who had been working for a government base airline industry found themselves under a different group, say, a German-owned multinational company that had bought the entire company. In the same way, workers who had been hired by a local council found themselves working for a private sector company and a totally different employer, and facing a different contract of work with a different set of rules and conditions. Other influences and challenges which the unions need to face in today’s era The change of the industry from public to private sector lead to massive changes in the way a firm is run. Private firms look for profit and seek for ways to save the revenues by lowering down the costs. Therefore, these new employers try to cut down on additional benefits, leaves for holidays, pensions and working conditions in order to lower down the expenses. There are organizations like the UNISON, in the U.K, are opposing to these newer employees in an attempt to protect the employees’ rights. Most private employers are not willing and are less approachable in an attempt to reach common agreements. With the increasing competition and the profits for the investors in mind, they are forced to search for routes to cut the incomes; increase the work hours, cut jobs; remove pensions and health benefits and reduce safety regulations to the most minimum level possible. UNISON and other big unions are constantly trying to resist this desire. When social welfare services were run the government and the public sector (eg local hospitals and the airlines industry), they were regarded as important public services, which were a right to the citizens of the country such as water, to be paid for, using several factors including taxes from the citizens. For the employees in the public sector, factors such as high wages and better working conditions were presented and negotiated through collective bargaining. Often, the public employers would reach for an agreement in favor of the employees. This agreement would be used centrally in the country for all the workers working in the similar industries and doing the same jobs. In most private companies, the bosses seek to negotiate with each worker and might want a worker to agree not to say anything to any other fellow worker the basis of his/her own job. Most of these businesses are don’t want to give a recognition to any type of a trade union meaning that the employees are left on their own without their representation from the unions. A lot of women are interested in working part-time as they have other work to do. These women have benefited in the recent years due to the demands of several trade unions from the government in an attempt to increase the rights of the part-time workers, especially women. Another problem has been the shift to the service and the tertiary sector. There have been a lot of jobs in the industry and several employees have switched to the service sector. The unions also had a weaker role in this sector and with the switching of the sector, the problem increased even further with the employees leaving the memberships of certain unions and the new employees ignoring the membership for the unions. Kochan, Thomas A. Challenges and Choices Facing American Labor. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1985. Print. As if these problems were not enough, several years of bad publicity and negativity about the corruption and the unethical approach in some of the major trade unions have caused problems to the labor movement. They older unions were effective in increasing the wagers, the benefits and the conditions of the workers. This has been their major positive point. However, the newer working generation and the youth have clearly stated that they don’t need the unions and the memberships in an attempt for being better off. Union plus points regarding the focus that they give employees a say in almost all aspects of the jobs, including better working conditions and safety are now ignored. These independent and young workers who have worked with the increase in high-technology have little interest in the memberships of these organizations which they think remove independence that the youth needs. Therefore, the newer generation focuses on working independently rather than by being a part of an organization. Another surprising reason was the decline in the unemployment rates in the beginning of the 21st century which led to a lesser importance of the unions. The people were being employed and those who were unemployed were regarded as self-unemployed individuals and the employees who are out of work according to their preference. This led to a decline in the membership of the unions and the unions kept on declining year by year. Another reason in this decline in the start of the 21st century was that the companies in the U.S began a concerted and massive attack on unions, pressuring government officials for changes in the labor laws and regulations that would ease up companies to not only sue the trade unions, but also to stop workers from becoming members. As more and more of the new and independent media sources were targeted by bigger multinational media companies, those same huge media companies were involved in the assault, putting the blame on the unions for every failure in the corporations to make at least a profit in the recession and the slumps in the economy. One of the cleverest and the most successful attempt started by the companies in the U.S was to publically blame the unions in being evil communist organizations. This in turn caused a huge propaganda which is possibly the biggest reason of the decline in these unions. This started from the U.S and spread across other continents including Europe. This was adapted by the religious groups who protested against these trade unions as they were regarded as evil for the society. Basically, the blame on the unions by the corporations was that the unions were socialist organizations which led to communism and which is the primary base for Satanism. This led to religious groups starting to act against the unions. They regarded the unions as the evil organizations which were also mentioned in the Holy bible as the people who join these evil organizations, start to move away from God. Globalising Social Justice: Trade Unionism in the 21st Century. Brussels: ICFTU, 2000. Print. The changes needed by unions The Informal Economy: Challenges for Trade Unions. Kathmandu: Publication Dept., Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2005. Print. In this modern era, the employees need to be flexible and should be ready to adapt any changes. They should be proactive for any changes meaning they should be a variable form of the work which needs to be done. Another thing that needs to be understood is that the world only focuses on the results and the output generated and not the time and hours spent on the work. The thing is that the trade unions are working in the same way as in the industrial age with the same approaches. The unions need to adapt the modern culture and need to work according to the current world era rather than its ancient approaches in making the employees well off. They need to modernize and this is only possible if they adapt the globalization strategies by educating the people that they represent. There are several skilled individuals and professionals who are the part of these trade unions. They need to start acting like leaders in order to educate the unskilled employees. They need to make them aware about the potential job losses that can occur. Therefore, these unions need to change their strategy from the ancient wage bargaining to a newer strategy which will involve greater skills and an increase in literacy. The unions were popular amongst the employees in the industrial age and there were extensive members of the unions. The unions were perfect at that time, however, they don’t have any major power against the employers and hence, they don’t play the same role which they played around 50 or 100 years back. Today, people don’t even bother becoming members of the unions and statistics show that the number of members is constantly declining. 50 years back, there were more than 35 percent people who were members of the unions. Today, there are less than 13 percent who are the members. The decline has solely occurred due to the lack of changes and the strategies which have remained the same throughout the history of the labor unions. The unions in South Africa and in the Middle East were not only formed for the betterment of the workforce, they were also formed to represent the workforce politically as a say from the working population. The time was known as the industrial movement and the unions were there to represent the employees in that era in the favor of both the firms and the employees. However, the unions failed to adapt the modern world techniques which is why they lost the importance which was once massive in the industrial era. Today, the modern world and the new era has a different set of rules which are not adapted by these trade unions resulting in a loss in their importance. Conclusion Trade unions in the recent years have a greater power and are better than for many years. Membership rates have decreased and new literate leaders have been selected in order to give a better representation and thus, the number of strike defeats since the start of the 21st century has decreased. All trade unions in different countries are facing one similar problem. They don’t have the answer to the question “how can we do both the things at the same time. One being giving job security which is needed by the employees and the other being adapting the need of the employers as they are pressurized by the market in terms of efficiency, changes in technology and newer ways in trading.” Kester, Ge?rard, and Henri Pinaud. Trade Unions and Democratic Participation in Europe: A Scenario for the 21st Century. Aldershot, England: Avebury, 1996. Print. This is the most common problem in the 21st century which is faced by almost all the trade unions. They simply cannot deal with both the problems at once. If the workers thing the employer will fire them off or decrease their wages, they won’t be loyal to the company and will act as strangers. They will not feel important to the company and they won’t work towards the success of the business if this constant feeling remains. For a business to be successful the employer-employee relationship should be better and businesses that succeed to the top are usually the businesses who have adapted the strategy of team work and better employee relationships. Trust here is the key element for the betterment of both, the employer and the employees. The employer can achieve a higher success rate in taking the business to the next level with huge growth opportunities and with higher profits. The employees also need to trust the employers in order to work their best. This will lead to an increase in efficiency and the employees are likely to become loyal to the company. Once that feeling arrives which causes the employee to treat the business as a personal success, the business is likely to reach its peak with outstanding efforts put in by the employees. Employers require workers whom they can trust to for the initiative on the job, and employees need to trust the top authority if they are to think that the change will be for the betterment of them rather than it being worse. The absence of job security and the fear of other changes regarding the pay or the conditions of the employee are not going to do any good to the business itself. The businesses will need to focus on flexibility and the need to lower down costs which can be done by the flexibility in the employment of the employees and the wage rates. They need to work ethically in the favor of the employees in order to achieve the primary objective. UNISON has been very effective in the 21st century in increasing the rights and improving the quality of work for these women. They have put forward legal issues and have received their rewards in terms of millions of dollars of pay increases in total and there have been improvements in the gender equality in the wages and salaries. Also, the union has been successful in fighting other job related problems with women such as sexual harassment. Statistics show that the average trade union membership in the world has fallen from the thirteen million which was achieved in the late 19th century. However, there have been slight improvements in the rate and the members are growing but at a pretty small rate which is why the members are not even 8 million today. Verma, Anil, and Thomas A. Kochan. Unions in the 21st Century: An International Perspective. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print. Globalization has indeed changed how the world operates and how huge companies operate. It can be seen that the newer companies and the privatized sector has been in the least interest of the employees and the workers. They have been exploited and there has been a decline in the representation of the workers which is in the form of trade unions. There have been several reasons pointed out above which have caused several challenges and problems faced by the trade unions which is why there have been constant membership declines in the 20th century and in the start of the 21st century. Also, today the importance of trade unions is very little and many people argue that there is no need for unions in the current world. However, there have been constant problems with the rights of employees, including lower wages and lack of job security, and there will always be the problems of gender discrimination. These cannot be solved and they will always be present in the economy which is why there is still a need of trade unions in the 21st century. These, however, are not proving to be that much of a help due to their old approaches with the current changes happening all over the world.. The strategies used by the unions need to change and they need to adapt different strategies in order to achieve their aims and goals. References Kester, Ge?rard, and Henri Pinaud. Trade Unions and Democratic Participation in Europe: A Scenario for the 21st Century. Aldershot, England: Avebury, 1996. Print. Verma, Anil, and Thomas A. Kochan. Unions in the 21st Century: An International Perspective. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Print. "Trade Unions Towards the 21st Century ; European Trade Union Institute." Transfer : European Review of Labour and Research. 3.3 (1997): 464-605. Print. Globalising Social Justice: Trade Unionism in the 21st Century. Brussels: ICFTU, 2000. Print. The Informal Economy: Challenges for Trade Unions. Kathmandu: Publication Dept., Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions in cooperation with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2005. Print. Kochan, Thomas A. Challenges and Choices Facing American Labor. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1985. Print. Read More