The Role that Trade Unions Play Iin Reducing Discrimination in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

 Analyse The Role That Trade Unions Play In Reducing Discrimination In The Workplace Introduction A trade union or a labour union is an organization of employees who work in collective manner to attain specific common goals like the protection of the integrity of trade, the achievement of higher pay packages and other ancillary employment benefits like retirement benefits, medical and health benefits, ensuring safety standards, improved working conditions, bargaining regarding the working hours and increasing the number of labours that are assigned for a particular work completion. The trade unions perform a leadership role through which its bargains with the employer groups on the behalf of the employees, who are the union members to protect the interests of the employee groups, prevent any kind of employment exploitation and negotiate the work terms and labour contracts. This essay is written with the aim of evaluating the role of the trade unions in controlling and reducing various types of discrimination on the basis of the above mentioned factors. The essay would include a brief history of the violation of the trade unions, the basic functions of the trade unions, the different types of trade unions and their roles, and the role of the trade unions in ensuring that the organizations embrace diversity and minimize discrimination among the employee groups. Several real life organizational examples are provided in order to support the arguments presented on the paper. Common terms inherently associated with trade unions like collective bargaining, equality and diversity issues, gender discrimination, racial discrimination etc. are also explained with an aim to develop a better understanding of the propositions established in the essay. The essay is concluded by highlighting the findings and providing an opinion regarding the contribution of the trade unions to the reduction of discriminatory practices in various types of organizations. Discussion Overview of Trade Unions The system of trade unions started in the beginning of the 19th century when trade association were formed as labour unions by the skilled male labours with the aim of protecting their employment terms and conditions. The end of the 19th century saw the formation of the industrial revolution associations by unskilled male labours which resulted in the transformation of the core functionalities and characteristics of the trade unions and union movements. The role and functions of trade unions have altered significantly over the last 30 years. Factors like increasing level of global competition, emerging trends of outsourcing of jobs, sponsored forms for employment, legal standards, the establishment of international regulatory procedures and labour standards and the increasing level of diversity of employment bases boosted by the advent of globalization have acted in a combined manner resulting in a precipitation of the fall in the number of union membership and in the coverage of basic union activities like collective bargaining (Da Costa and Rehfeldt, 2007, pp.313-316). An assessment of the characteristics, functions and objectives of trade unions is necessary to understand the actual role and impact of these unions on the management of different organizational and employment factors like employment creation, employee management, employee relations management, collective bargaining and diversity management (Cherry, 2009, pp.429-430). Hence, this part of the essay aims at understanding the basic features, objectives and functions of the modern trade unions act as a base for evaluating the roles of these trade unions in reducing discriminatory practices in organizations can be suitably evaluated. As per the traditional view of the trade unions, the most general purpose of the functioning of a trade union of workers is to maintain and improve the work conditions and labour practices of the workers (Dix, Sisson and Forth, 2009, pp. 34-36). These include the negotiations of pay scales, compliance with work rules, communication of the organizational compliant procedures and requirements to the employees, promotion and firing of workers, monitoring employment benefits and ensuring standard workplace policies and safety requirements (Marchington, Rubery, Cooke and Willmot, 2005, p.78). However, with the increasing focus on diversity on a global business platform, the role of the trade unions have been extended to include other dynamics like maintaining diversity, combating labour exploitation and ensuring that the employees work in an external work environment which is in adherence to the internationally recognized employment regulations and policies (Blanchflower and Bryson, 2010, pp.92-109). It can be argued that in the modern business environment, the trade unions play a crucial role in ensuring that all kinds of discrimination are reduced within an organization so that a healthy, just and unbiased work environment can be provided to the employees, irrespective of their age, gender, culture, religion or background (Bach, 2011, p.334). In the present scenario, the activities of the trade unions have moved beyond the mere management of employee relations and collective barraging in the workplace. Instead the role of these unions have been expanded to take up a holistic approach towards the management and monitoring of various other factors like diversity, ethicality, compliance with international standards of employment etc. which have emerged as comparatively new factors for consideration in the labour markets (Bytom, Heery and Turnbull, 2009, p.540). Today these associations work as the representative of the employee groups which place these unions at the centre of the total development plan of any sector, industry or sometimes even a nation as a whole unit (Ewart, Mayhew and Payne, 2006, pp.539-559). As per the work of Kelly and Waddington (2003), trade unions can be defined as a continuous association of the labour group of employees for achieving the objective of maintenance or improvement of the conditions of employment (Kelly and Waddington, 2003, pp.79-97). This is the basic definition for a trade union whilst it can be seen through major examples that the trade unions today necessarily need to deal with other ancillary employment issues in order to truly represent and protect the interests of the employee groups who are the members of these associations (Brown, Deakin, Nash and Oxenbridge, 2000, pp.611-629). Role of trade unions in diversity management The trade unions basically exist because the employers are not always just and moral enough to voluntarily maintain and improve the labour practices and policies followed in their organizations. Without the presence of a trade union, the interests of the employee groups are often not focused on and the chances of exploitation of the needy employees remains high (Givan, 2007, pp.829-855). The establishment of trade unions act as a support system for the employees and the employees can generate the bottom up pressure and demand of equality and fair labour practices through these unions (Whitfield, Brown, Bryson and Forth, 2012, p.40). This helps to create top down commitment towards diversity from the senior management of the employing companies as well. Both these top down and bottom up focus towards abolishing discrimination in employment and embracement of diversity are necessary to ensure the creation of a truly globalized and fair business environment and labour market in different geographical locations of the world. The trade unions are recognized as influential entities which protect and promote employee interests thereby reducing the vulnerability of the employee groups and paving the way for a more equal and fair society and societal norms. Also, the trade unions provide proper representation between the employers and employees and thus help to maintain the balance of power between these two groups. This helps in the development of harmonious and mutually beneficial relationships between these two entities (Brown, Bryson and Forth, 2009, p.45). A trade union is a heterogeneous and dynamic organization. While some scholars argue that there are various models and structures of trade unions, many other scholars are of the view that trade unions follow multi dimensional models (Colling, 2006, pp.140-160). As per Saundry, Jones and Antcliff (2011), trade unions can be classified into three types of models on the basis of their formation and ideological orientation (Saundry, Jones and Antcliff, 2011, p.195). These models are radical unionism or class focus model, social movement unionism or society focus model and business unionism or market focus model. These models are included in the geometry of the trade association or trade unionism. Also, these three models of unions are not mutually exclusive and often tend to co-exist and overlap in terms of characteristics and functionalities. Most of the trade unions have the characteristics of two to three of the basic models of unionism, with one characteristics usually being more profound that the other (Holgate, 2009, p.44). Figure 1: Models underlying the formation of trade unionism (Source: Saundry, Jones and Antcliff, 2011, pp.196) Diversity has become the keyword for sustainability and the creation of competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive business world. As such, all the corporate entities are also showing a considerable amount of interest to embrace diversity and abolish all kinds of discriminations in their respective work environments (Krings, 2009, pp.49-69). The trade unions play an active and influential role in diversity management. Without the interference of collectivistic associations like the trade unions it becomes very difficult for the companies to ensure the abolition of discrimination among the employee groups working at various levels in the companies. Therefore, the corporate world is fast shifting from a utilitarian individualistic framework of diversity management to a moral and collectivistic framework of diversity management in which the trade unions have a crucial role to play (Lindsay, Munro and Wise, 2007, p.470). The collectivistic framework and the individualistic framework of diversity management are compared in the table below. Figure 2: Frameworks for diversity management (Source: Gumbrell-McCormick, 2011, p.310). The involvement of trade unions in the development and embracement of diversity approaches can be studied through the examples cited from real world organizations. Trade unions in developing economies like South Africa and China have played a crucial role in the liberation struggles of these nations. The trade unions in the developing economies which were colonized in nature are identified to be the key drivers in the democratization processes of the countries (Ackers and Payne, 1998, pp. 529-550). Also, the trade unions act as important developmental agencies in different societies. There are numerous examples of the national Trade Unions in countries like The United States of America, United Kingdom, India, South Africa, Ireland and Germany playing the role of developmental agencies for instigating and supporting the development of the different levels of employee groups. The trade unions of these countries act in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to ensure the provision of proper support and development for the employee groups across a wide range of sectors, especially focusing on the manufacturing units and factories of the small and big companies functioning in these regions (The European Commission, 2013, p. 61). Figure 3: Anti discrimination stances taken up by the trade unions in the European countries in 2012. (Source: The European Commission, 2013, p. 62) The trade unions in many countries like Europe and the United States are said to have emerged as the most influential entities in the employment domain. Some of the countries in the European Union are believed to have the most restrictive laws related to trade unionism. Though in such countries, trade unions are criticised to have led to imbalances of power between the employer and employee groups, yet it can be uniformly agreed that the trade unions in these countries have been the prime drivers of equality and diversity management, lower discriminatory practices, low inequality levels among worker groups and widespread collective bargaining practices. As per the report published by the European Commission in 2013, the nationally recognised trade unions in 34 European countries have already taken up more than 130 significant equality and anti discrimination initiatives and are expected to combat the problems of discrimination and biased employer behaviours through active collaboration with national legislative bodies in the future years as well (The European Commission, 2013). Figure 4: Unions working with legislative bodies by innovation and significance (Source: The European Commission. 2013, p.65) In the European Union, the governments of different countries often team up with influential trade unions to ensure that the regulatory laws and labour standards are properly implemented and enforced in different segments of industries (Daniels and Mcllro, 2009, p.90). Also, in developed countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom, many trade unions work in collaboration with NGOs to promote awareness and fight discrimination in the employment practices of the domestic and international companies operating in these specific markets (Darlington, 2010, pp.126-135). Trade unions in the European Union have been particularly advanced in terms of taking initiatives to combat discriminatory practices and promote diversity in employment (Wright, 2010, pp.55-56). The trade unions in the European Union function at the sectoral, national as well as the enterprise levels to carry out initiatives that aim at negating discrimination in employment through the commissioning researches, the organization of awareness building conferences and events, the mobilization of members and the development of instruments like the diversity toolkits that support the management of diversity (Butler, 2009, pp.198-214). Figure 5: Trade Union practices in the area of discrimination (Source: The European Commission, 2013, p.26) Trade Unions and anti discrimination The trade unions have had to take up a serious role in the abolishment of discrimination in the workplaces because till date, racial and gender discriminations continue to attract the maximum number of complains in the Human Rights Commission (Dickens, 2007, pp.463-466). As per the records of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), the frequency of complaints regarding disability discriminations, gender and racial discriminations are increasing on an alarming rate both in the employment and pre employment areas (United Nations Human Rights, 2014, p.12). Since the Human Rights Act formulated in 1993 includes the abolishment of discrimination on the basis of racial differences, therefore, it remains significant for the trade unions to also contribute to the propagation of the vision in order to remain at an influencing position. The trade unions focus on the abolishment of all kinds of racial discrimination which includes the acceptance and acknowledgement of the ethnic and national origin of every employee, abolishment of racial harassment and racial disharmony (Alesina, Giuliano and Nunn, 2013, pp.469-530). As per a report presented by the EEO, there have been 1533 complaints recorded in the HRC from 2006-2007 of which 441 complains were made due to racial discrimination. This is shown graphically in the figure below. Figure 6: Complains in HRC for racial discrimination: 2006-2007 (Source: Greene and Kirton, 2009, p.178). The role of the trade unions in supporting two major types of diversity which are gender diversity and racial diversity in organizations are studied and analyzed in the following sections in order to understand the extent to which the trade unions have been successful in reducing discrimination among employees on the basis of these major diversity issues (Dickens, Townley and Winchester, 1988, p.222). Role of trade unions in supporting racial discrimination The trade unions assume a primary role in supporting racial diversity and reducing discrimination among employees on the basis of racial differences (Heery, 2002, p.20). The trade unions negotiate with the employers to review that equal opportunities for employment are promoted and the discriminatory practices in the workplace are eliminated, to support the employees who have been the victim of discrimination and to document, monitor and denounce discriminatory practices and policies in the workplace (Bennett, 2010, pp. 509 – 525). Discrimination among employees in the workplace permeates different dimensions of employment including the selection and recruitment processes, career progression and remuneration etc. (Martinez and Stuart, 2009, p.56). This becomes especially prominent in the times of economic downturns. Racism in employment is one of the most age old challenges faced by employee groups in countries across the globe (McBride and Greenwood, 2009, pp.168-170). Racial discrimination exists on a noticeable degree in the developed countries like the United States, Canada, The United Kingdom etc., the developing nations like China, India etc. as well as in the underdeveloped economies like South Africa (Achur, 2011, p.202). By reviewing the active involvement of many trade unions in a wide number of incidents of workplace discrimination, it can be said that the trade unions have emerged as the most decisive organizational entities that is playing an influential role in uprooting the problem of racial prejudice in workplaces (William, Bryson, Forth and Whitfield, 2009, pp.45-50). The trade union best practices for the uprooting of the racial discriminations include the initiatives to promote awareness related to racism and discrimination in employment, the adoption of the diversity policies within the frame of social acceptance, the introduction of initiatives that focus on providing equal opportunities of work to domestic and foreign candidates as well as migrants and the training of the members of the trade union regarding how to combat with discrimination and enforce anti discriminatory policies in the workplaces (Bennett, 2010, p.99). For example, the BECTU, which is a well known Trade Union in the United Kingdom, has been organizing networking events for the members by co-operating with the entertainment and media union of the United Kingdom. These networking events enable the employees to directly meet and present proposals to the representatives of their employing organizations. Since, the year 2003, the BECTU has set up almost 5400 individual contacts between more than 1800 minority and black ethnic professional and 730 broadcasting executives (Heery and Simms, 2010). This has acted as a niche development on the part of the BECTU to reduce racial discrimination in the European organizations (Metcalf, 2005, p.514). However, in many countries like Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Malta, the degree of involvement of the trade unions in striving against racial discrimination is negligible (Saundry, Jones and Antcliff, 2011, pp.195-211). As such, it is necessary that the trade unions develop internal strategies to support the religious and ethnic minority works so that the problem of discrimination in workplaces can be adequately mitigated (Brown and Marsden, 2010, p.34). Role of trade unions in supporting gender discrimination Initially the trade unions which specifically focus on the promotion of the interests of the female group of employees have emerged because of two main factors which are that female employees are often excluded from the trade unions in which the members are primarily of the male gender and secondly, because the feminist movement depicted the belief that it was necessary for the female employees in workplaces to fight for their rights (Cockburn, 1991, p.84). The role of trade unions has not yet become as prominent in the arena of gender discrimination as it is in the domain of other forms of discrimination (Marsden, 2011, p.45). The bargaining polices of trade unions are found to be stronger in case of fighting different forms of discrimination but are comparatively weak in the case of fighting against gender discriminations in the workplace (Rees, 1992, p.50). The discriminations in pay on the basis of the gender of the employee is still not perceived as an unfair practices and is not yet included in the agenda of many trade unions across the world (Benett, 2010, pp.509-525). The differences in the pay of the men and women full time employees for 2013 in some selected OECD countries are given in the graph below. This shows that the gender wage gaps are highest in the Asian countries. Figure 7: Comparison of earnings of employees on the basis of gender 2013 (Source: OECD, 2014, p.60). The experiences of the trade unions suggest that the agenda of the debates cannot be sufficiently determined on the basis of gender discrimination. It can be seen that the focus of the organizations on removing gender discrimination is more than the bottom up focus of the trade unions to support the same (Gall, 2006, p.45). The fact that the male employees in most sectors earn 1.5 times the wages of female employees reflects that the balance of power is not adequately maintained between the trade unionism practices for the two genders of employees (Ledwith, 2012, p.186). The trade unions are more active in case of the male employee inclusions and the women specific conditions of work are not well focused on by these associations (Cunnison and Stageman, 1995, p.56). Thus, the trade unions are lesser involved in the areas of gender discrimination in workplaces because their activities are restrained by the existing frameworks of gender specific labour divisions (Humphris, Kleiner and Koumenta, 2011, p.80). Trade unions traditionally focus on improving the work and pay conditions of employees but do not have specialized strategies that aim to solve the concerns of the female employees or other monitory employee groups (Collins and Dickens, 2001, p.90). Thus, the achievements of trade unions in fighting gender discrimination have not yet been much appreciated on a global platform. Conclusion It can be stated that the future of the employment industry is likely to become more challenging for the movement of the trade unions. How these trade unions respond to the emerging needs of the labour markets and manages the challenges of employment like diversity management, discrimination of employees, creation of employment opportunities, ensuring equal and fair pay practices and adherence to the internationally recognized labour standards etc. would decide the level of influence of these unions in the future years of the labour market. Thus, the trade unions should focus on developing representation strategies that would support the employees who have become the victims of racial discrimination and subsequently provide them with sufficient monetary and non monetary compensation for the damages incurred by them due to the discriminatory activities apart from promoting awareness and ensuring the adherence to the international policies related to anti discriminatory systems in different organizations. References Achur, J. (2011). Trade union membership 2010. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Ackers &, P. Payne, J. (1998). British trade unions and social partnership: rhetoric, reality and strategy. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 9 (3), 529-550. Bach, S. (2011). A new era of public service employment relations? The challenges ahead. London: Acas. Benett, T. (2010). Exploring the potential of the union equality representative. Employee Relations, 32 (5), 509-525. Bennett, T. (2010). Exploring the potential of the union equality representative. Employee Relations, 32 (5), 509 – 525. Blanchflower, D. & Bryson, A. (2010). The wage impact of trade unions in the UK public and private sectors. Economica, 77(305), 92-109. Brown, W. & Marsden, D. (2010). Individualization and growing diversity of employment relationships. CEP Discussion Paper No. 1037. London: Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science. Brown, W., Bryson, A. & Forth, J. (2009). Competition and retreat from collective bargaining. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brown, W., Deakin, S., Nash, D. & Oxenbridge, S. (2000). The employment contract: from collective procedures to individual rights. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(4), 611-629. Butler, P. (2009). Non-union employee representation: Exploring the riddle of managerial strategy. Industrial Relations Journal, 40(3), 198-214. Bytom, P., Heery, E. & Turnbull, P. (2009). Reassessing the employment relationship, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Cherry, E. (2009). Trade unions and contingent labour: scale and method. Economy and Society, 2(3), 429-430. Cockburn, C. (1991). In the way of women. Basingstoke: Macmillan. Colling, T. (2006). What space for unions on the floor of rights? Trade unions and the enforcement of statutory individual employment rights. Industrial Law Journal, 35(2), 140-160. Collins, T. & Dickens, L. (2001). Gender equality and trade unions: a new basis for mobilisation. Scranton: Harper Collins. Cunnison, S., & Stageman, J. (1995). Feminising the Unions. Avebury: Aldershot. Da Costa, I. & Rehfeldt, U. (2007). European Works Councils and transnational bargaining about restructuring in the auto industry. European Review of Labour and Research, 13(2), 313-316. Alesina, A, Giuliano, P. & Nunn, N. (2013). On the Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough. Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 128 (2), pp. 469–530. Daniels, G. & Mcllro, J. (2009). Trade unions in a neoliberal world: British trade unions under new labour. London: Routledge. Darlington, R. (2010). The state of workplace union reps’ organization in Britain today. Capital and Class, 34(1), 126-135. Dickens, L. (2007). The Road is long: thirty Years of Equality Legislation in Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 45(3), 463-466. Dickens, L., Townley, B., Winchester, D. (1988). Tackling sex discrimination through collective bargaining. Manchester: Equal opportunities commission. Dix, G., Sisson, K. & Forth, J. (2009). The evolution of the modern workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ewart, K., Mayhew, K. & Payne, J. (2006). From skills revolution to productivity miracle – not as easy as it sounds? Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 22(4), 539-559. Gall, G. (2006). Union recognition: organizing and bargaining outcomes. London: Routledge. Givan, R. K. (2007). Side by side we battle onward? Representing workers in contemporary America. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 45(4), 829-855. Greene, A & Kirton, G. (2009). The dynamics of managing diversity. Elsevier: Oxford. Gumbrell-McCormick, R. (2011). European trade unions and “atypical” workers’. Industrial Relations Journal, 42(3), 310. Heery, E. & Simms, M. (2010). Employer responses to union organizing: patterns and effects. Human Resource Management Journal, 20 (1), 70. Heery, E. (2002). Partnership versus organizing: alternative futures for British trade unionism. Industrial Relations Journal, 33(1), 20. Holgate, J. (2009). Contested terrain: London’s living wage campaign and the tensions between community and union organizing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Humphris, A., Kleiner, M. M. & Koumenta, M. (2011). How does government regulate occupations in the UK and US? Issues and policy implications. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kelly, J. & Waddington, J. (2003). Union revitalization in Britain. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 9(1), 79-97. Krings, T. (2009). A Race to the Bottom? Trade Union, EU Enlargement and the Free Movement of Labour. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 15 (1), 49-69. Ledwith, S. (2012). Gender politics in trade unions: The representation of women between exclusion and inclusion. European Review of Labour and Research, 18 (2), 186. Lindsay, C., Munro, A. & Wise, S. (2007). Making equalities work? Scottish trade unions: approaches to equal opportunities. Equal Opportunities International, 26 (5), 470. Marchington, M., Rubery, J., Cooke, F. L. & Willmot, H. (2005). Fragmenting work: blurring organizational boundaries and disordering hierarchies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Marsden, D (2011). Labour market policy for the 21st century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Martinez, L. & Stuart, M. (2009). Union revitalization in advanced economies: assessing the contribution of union organizing. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. McBride, J. & Greenwood, I. (2009). The complexity of community unionism: a comparative analysis of concepts and contexts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Metcalf, D. (2005). British unions: resurgence or perdition? The Work Foundation, (1), 100-102. OECD. 2014. Earnings and wages. Retrieved from http://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm. Rees, T. (1992). Women and the labour market. London: Routledge. Saundry, R., Jones, C. & Antcliff, V. (2011). Discipline, representation and dispute resolution – exploring the role of trade unions and employee companions in workplace discipline. Industrial Relations Journal, 42(2), 195-211. The European Commission. 2013. Trade union practices on anti-discrimination and diversity. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=580&type=2&furtherPubs=no. Whitfield, K., Brown, W., Bryson, A. & Forth, J. (2012). The evolution of the modern workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. William. B., Bryson, A., Forth, J. & Whitfield, K. (2009). The evolution of the modern workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wright, C. F. (2010). Swords of justice and civic pillars: the case for greater engagement between trade unions and community organizations. London: Trades Union Congress. United Nations Human Rights. (2014). Ratification, Reporting & Documentation for United States of America. Retrieved from http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx. Read More