Differences between Trade Unions and Labour Unions Movement - Case Study Example

Differences between Trade Unions and Labour Unions Movement 1.0 Introduction The labour movements play a key role in facilitating sustainable development and democracy in a working society. Trade unions play the central role of facilitating unique contribution to the enhancement and development of the society (Bluestone, 2008). Trade unions are large organized groups that form part of civil societies and are directly engaged with the economic systems of both distribution and production. They have a capability of influencing social and economic policies because they can control the course and content of employment (Bluestone, 2008). Both the labour and trade union movements have played a crucial role in broad social transformation and development processes in Central and Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Labour Union Movements have paved way observation of employees’ rights in cooperates and ensuring that cooperates do not take advantage of vulnerable employees (Shah, 2009). Trade union movements have facilitated the success of the Anglo-Saxon model of strong collective bargaining that plays a crucial role in industrialized countries through the enhancement of labour market conditions that are effective and relevant for policy design and action while considering the dynamic labour markets. This paper aims analysing the historical background of both trade and labour union markets with special emphasis on the role played by these unions in the 19th century. The paper will explore the role of the unions both in industrialized and non-industrialized countries while considering the extent to which traditional industrial relations remain relevant and effective to the current economies in regards with policy design and action. The paper will also put special emphasis on the drawbacks and advantages that come along with thieve movements while considering both the employer and the employee. 2.0 Historical Background of development of Labour and Trade Union Movements The origin of trade unions can be traced back to medieval guilds that existed to improve members’ livelihoods and protect them by controlling the progressions of these members from apprentice to grandmasters and regulating the instructional capital of artisanship (Bluestone, 2008). Trade unions can be composed of workers from a specific trade or a broad range of organizations, industries and companies. In the 14th centuries, trade unions were outlawed. The recognition of trade and labour unions was marked by the enactment of Ordinance of Labourers in the 14th century though the unions remained outlawed until mid 19th century. Web and Sidney (1984) observe that trade and labour unions movements were seen as a threat to employers because they were an association of wage earners determined to improve their working conditions. Unions rose to popularity through their strive to fight the imbalance that existed between workers and the owners who were their masters. In the mid 19th century, unions remained illegal in most countries with severe penalties being imposed on workers who attempted to form or join such unions. Despite this, towards the end of this century, unions began to gain political power and gradually culminated into a labour law that codified the relationship between employees organized into unions and their employers. The right to join such unions was also recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in article 23 subsections 4 while also limiting coercing of workers to join such unions (Castells, 1996). 3.0 Existing differences between the Roles Played by Trade Unions and Labour unions 3.1 Representation of Workers and Employees Chandra (2010), defined trade unions as an organization made up of employees whose principle activities encompass negotiation of pay rates and conditions of employment for its members. This implies the fact that trade unions have a task of representing its members at work. Trade unions help its members solve problems like grievance, redundancy and any legal and disciplinary actions taken against them. They provide adequate and relevant guidance to its members with regard to their employment rights (Kester, 1997). Research indicates that since the year 1996, employees have been able to acquire recognition for a trade union from their bosses because at least 50 percent of the workforces are trade union members. Statistics indicate that 32 percent of workplaces recognize and employ approximately 20 percent of workers from trade unions (Thomas, 2008). Trade unions also play a critical role in the negotiation appropriate pay and working conditions for its member employees. They are regarded as collective powers that act to benefit both the employers and the employees. Unionised workers generally have better working conditions and wages compared to un-unionised workers (Chandra, 2010). For instance there are clear stipulations of rights and wages for employees introduced through the European Works Council for companies. Labour Unions Movements help raise the wages of their members to roughly 20 percent and increase their compensation that encompasses both their benefits and wages to approximately 28 percent (Shah, 2009). Therefore, labour Union Movements help curb wage inequality by increasing the wages for low and middle wage employees compared to that of higher wageworkers such as white-collar workers. This helps limit the employer’s discretion to violate the employee’s rights by overworking them with minimal payouts. For instance, a high school graduate who is not under any union but his employer is unionised earns 5 percent more than similar employees working under non-unionised employees. Apparently, the impact of labour unions in on the total nonunion wages is as large as the impact it has on total union wages. 3.2 Securing the health and Safety of Employees and Workers Trade unions play an important role in enhancing the health and safety of employees at work. Trade unions have a network of safety and health representatives who work to directly work with employers to help come up with policies and practices that consider the employee’s health and working safety (IILS, 1998). Effective and accurate policies to protect the employer from any work risks help employers to minimize any sort of company losses that can accrue from compensation claims, sick leaves and lost work. As observed, trade unions are playing a key role of encouraging employers to curb and minimize stress at work that is emerging as a major challenge in most industries to the dynamic labor and product markets. Health and safety representatives are trained either by their own companies or by the trade union companies. Statistics indicate that since 1978, the trade union companies have facilitated the training of over 100,000 safety representatives (Castells, 1996). Health and safety encompasses a wide range of working conditions which include use of safety wear to curb sick building syndrome. Health and safety representatives are trained to carefully handle disputes and grievances that arise between employees and their employers and can advise on employee’s compensation rights. On the contrary, labour unions are only concerned with the employees’ safety and not the policies that the employer can apply to secure the employee’s rights and safety. Labour unions movements work to ensure that the employer provides the right working conditions for his employee and that the employee is entitled to both risk and health compensation depending on the type of work they do (Chandra, 2010). Labour unions serve the purpose of educating the employees on their safety at work nd the extent to which their employers are liable for this safety. They fight for the employer’s rights to ensure that incase of disputes to do with the employee’s health and safety, the employee’s rights are not infringed and that he receives appropriate compensation. They advise the employee on the possible actions he can take towards the employer incase his safety and health rights are infringed. In some instances, they can sue in the place of the employee to demand for these rights. The main underlying difference between trade unions and labour unions in terms of securing safety for employees is that labour unions are mainly focused with the employee’s work safety and health while trade unions focus on the mechanisms that the employer can apply to secure this safety and health. 3.4 Securing Equal Working Opportunities Trade unions are also focused at maintaining equal opportunities for its members who are likely to suffer from discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, and nationality. In 2003, trade unions to provided regulations to protect workers against discrimination in their working places based on their sexual orientation and religious believe (Shah, 2009). Age discrimination in working laces was also illegalized in 2006 (Shah, 2009). Trade unions support equal rights through provision on legal advice on issues covered by these laws, they also work to ensure that employers are not breaking the laws on equal rights and represent members who are discriminated against in work. Trade unions also advocate for better legal rights for various classes of workers with special consideration of people with disabilities and women. They also run their own training programmes for their members to curb work discrimination and harassment. These steps taken by trade unions have largely helped break the glass ceiling in co-operate management as it has seen women move up the ladder (Thomas, 2008). Labour unions have facilitated enactment of laws to curb discrimination in work places. Such laws provide for equal employment opportunities. The main difference between the roles of trade unions and that of labour unions in enhancing equal opportunities in the working environments is that labour movements pave way for labour union to act. This is reflected by the fact that labour unions are pivotal in enacting laws on equity while trade unions are pivotal in ensuring that equality is achieved in work places (Bluestone, 2008). 3.5 Enabling learning at Work Trade unions support learning at work hence giving its members an opportunity to widen their knowledge while still working. Statistics indicate that there were approximately 22,000-trained union learning representatives in the year 2010 (Chandra, 2010). Since the year 2002, trade unions have had the right of independently carrying out their duties of providing advice, guidance, and information on training and learning of their members. They have independently organized training and promoted the value of learning in co-workers. This has acted has an important element in enhancing skills of the workforce more so in employees who have been traditionally discriminated from learning in low-skilled and low-paid jobs (Chandra, 2010). Labour unions also promote learning at work but in a different mode compared to that applied by trade unions as reflected above. Labour unions provide for laws that enhance dynamic capabilities and knowledge management in industries. They stipulate that companies should effectively come up with policies that allow their members to expand their skills through dynamic capabilities (IILS, 1998). This has helped encourage creativity and innovation within companies hence helping both workers and employees keep at par with the dynamic technology. It has also helped facilitate appropriate knowledge management in the workplace where by employees’ are not taken advantage of and they are paid what they deserve with consideration of their levels knowledge. It has also enhanced respect of the employee’s ability to effectively carry out some tasks without being coerced and harassed. 3.6 Member Services Trade unions and labour movements also differ in the sort of services that they provide to their members. It is observed that in the recent past, unions have increased the variety of services that they offer to their members. Unions have effectively graduated to meet their member’s needs hence making membership more attractive. Trade unions offer services such as accident and insurance cover to their members of whom labour unions only represent their members in claims for accidents and injuries incurred during work (Bank, 1999). Trade unions extend their legal services to legal advice on non-workplace issues while labor unions are only limited to legal service about workplaces. Trade unions facilitate acquisition of loans and mortgages to its members and other financial services while putting discounts into consideration (Bank, 1999). Labour unions only call for affordable prices in necessities and do not provide loans to its members. Education and training is one of the key elements reflected in trade union movements in a clear and elaborate manner compared to what is advocated for by labour unions as depicted above (Thomas, 2008). 4.0 The differences of the Unions in Economies in Industrialized and Non-industrialized Countries Unions are representative and accountable to for their member’s workplace rights. Trade unions are known to have had a considerable experience in enabling their members’ access national legal services systems and facilities by organizing the more vulnerable sections of the society in developing countries. Their contribution in developing countries is enhanced through their strong relationships with development institutions such as health funds, social security organizations, housing societies, and cooperatives in developed countries (Kester, 1997). This implies the fact that trade unions have to act as development partners in developing countries by ensuring the success and development of an individual employee. As observed in the last century, trade unions have had a remarkable record in industrialized countries about effective social structuring and development. They have enabled creation of welfare states, safety nets, and welfare mechanisms hence reshaping the social agenda by providing a ample evidence as to the success that can be yielded from appropriate management of employee’s rights (Kester, 1997). In Western European counties, the labor movement has also continued to attract a high degree of legitimacy in addressing societal issues. For instance, labour movement played a crucial role in transforming and restructuring Western Europe after the Second World War (Bluestone, 2008). Its roles of attracting providing are also felt on global markets where employer now have to put into consideration the employee’s rights in the company’s policies. This has helped shape a society that provides equal opportunities for all employees and considers the rights of the minorities. According to Bluestone (2008), labor movements in 1980 helped restructure the Western European economy through changing all the characteristics of labour markets. The major difference between the two both in industrialized and non-industrialized nations remains to be the role they play in the economy. The labour movements play a key role in restructuring labour markets whereas the trade unions play a major role in policy restructuring that trigger economic development. 5.0 Conclusion As observed above, unions play a key role in both securing individual rights of employees such as health, safety, overtime, and medical leaves and the role of protecting employees from abuse. These roles played by the unions clearly bring out the differences underlying between trade union movements and labour union movements. Trade union movements mainly help lay down the policies to be followed in ensuring that worker’s rights are not infringed, while labour unions provide the laws protecting these rights without the procedures to followed laying down the policies to guard these rights. Unionized workers draw many benefits from programmes such as workers compensation and unemployment insurance because they are more informed. Therefore, unions are intermediary institutions that serve the purpose of complementing the worker’s registered benefits and rights. In as much as unions may seem effective in delivering their services to workers, they also come along with some drawbacks and faced with challenges such as dynamic economic development, the challenge of gender equity and economic strives. Nevertheless, trade unions seem to be closely associated with labour unions in terms of their roles and organization. The difference that exists between the two unions is minimal because they serve a similar purpose of protecting and defending employee’s rights. References Bank, W. 1999. Workers in an Intergrating World-World Develpment Report 1999. New York: Oxford University Press. Bluestone, B. 2008. Negotiating the Future- A Labor Perspective on American Bussiness. New York: Basic Books. Castells, M. 1996. The Information age: Economy, Society and Culture. Volume 1: The Rise of New Work Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Chandra, N. 2010. The Organizing Question and the Unorganized Labor. In R. Datt, Organizing the Unorganized Workers (pp. 327-345). New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. IILS. 1998. Trade Union Responses to Globalization-Outline of the Case Studies. IILS , 38-47. Kester, G. &. 1997. Trade Unions and Sustainable Democracy in Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate. 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