Work and Employment - What is work? - Trade unions in decline?
4 important questions on Work and Employment - What is work? - Trade unions in decline?
Why has a reduction of trade union memberships occurred in the modern societies?
"High union density in the late twentieth century was common in Western countries for several reasons."
Can you name them?
- Strong working-class political parties created favourable conditions for labour organizations.
- Bargaining between companies and trade unions was coordinated at a national level, thus centralized.
- unions directly administered unemployment insurance, rather than the state, which ensured that workers that lost their jobs did not leave the labour movement.
"High union density in the late twentieth century was common in Western countries."
Why has this density now declined?
- Recession in global economic activity, associated with high unemployment levels, particularly during the 80s, weakened the bargaining position of organized labour.
- Increasing competition, particularly from low wage countries in Asia, weakened unions' bargaining power.
- Rise to power of right-wing governments, like the British Conservatives in 1979, saw an aggressive assault on trade unions.
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What can be defined as the three most important changes that affected workers' unionism?
- Historically high unemployment levels.
- Growth of part-time, flexible and zero-hours contracts.
- increasing divide between secure full-time jobs and insecure, poorly paid work.
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