LIVING IN A DEMOCRACY:TRADE UNIONS

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LIVING IN A DEMOCRACYTRADE UNIONS

• What you will learn
• The rights and responsibilities of Trade Unions
• Reasons for and against joining a union
• How members participate in unions
• How members are represented in unions
• The role of the Shop Steward
• Representation of women and ethnic minorities in
  unions.

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What is a Trade Union?

• Trade unions are organisations that try to
  protect the rights of workers.
• They are specialist PRESSURE GROUPS that focus on
  employers and employees.

ACTIVITY 1. Copy this aim To understand what
Trade Unions are and what they do. 2. Read the
sheet on the background of Trade Unions and
answer the questions in sentences.
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Trade Union Heads and Tails!
ACTIVITY Which groups of workers (red) would
the following Trade Unions (yellow) represent?
Educational Institute Of Scotland
Transport and General Workers Union
Train drivers
Schools and Colleges
Local Council Workers eg. janitors
UNISON
Fire Fighters
Fire Brigade Union
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Trade Union Structure
Delegates from ALL Trade Unions attend
Agrees the Unions national policies
Elected leader of the union
Sends delegates to National Conference
ACTIVITY Read the sheet Trade Union
Organisation and answer the questions
in sentences.
Pay fees to union in return for representation
EXTENSION Textbook Study Figure 4.1 on page 27
And read Trades Union Congress and TU
Membership On page 28. Then answer Qs 7 to 9 on
p27.
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Rights and Responsibilities
AIM To understand the rights and
responsibilities of trade unions and
their members. Draw a grid like the one below
TRADE UNION RIGHTS
TRADE UNION RESPONSIBILITIES
MEMBERS RIGHTS
MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITIES
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Now write the following statements into the
correct box on your grid
Recruit members
Elect the local Shop Steward
Not put pressure on people to join
Have unions represent them in any dispute with
management
Not make unreasonable demands or threats
Ask about changes in wages and conditions
Report problems to the Shop Steward
Hold a secret ballot for industrial action and
ensure it is peaceful and lawful
Take industrial action to protect workers rights
eg. strike
Take part in Industrial action
To vote in the election of the Shop Steward
To act within the law when participating in
industrial action
EXTENSION Write a Short speech that you would
make to Trade Union members to tell them about
their rights and responsibilities as Union
members.
TIP You should have three entries in EACH box
on your grid.
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How did you do?
TRADE UNION RIGHTS
TRADE UNION RESPONSIBILITIES
Recruit members
Not put pressure on people to join
Ask about changes in wages and conditions
Not make unreasonable demands or threats
Take industrial action to protect workers rights
eg. strike
Hold a secret ballot for industrial Action and
ensure it is peaceful and lawful
MEMBERS RIGHTS
MEMBERS RESPONSIBILITIES
Elect the local Shop Steward
To vote in the election of the Shop Steward
Take part in Industrial action
To act within the law when Participating in
industrial action
Report problems to the Shop Steward
Have unions represent them in any dispute with
management
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WHAT CAN TRADE UNIONS DO TO HELP THEIR MEMBERS?

• Sometimes, employers and employees fall out with
  each other, eg over wages or hours of work,
  safety. This is called an INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE.
• The Trade Union would try to NEGOTIATE with the
  employer to resolve the problem.
• If they are unable to find a solution, the union
  can take INDUSTRIAL ACTION

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Types of Industrial Action

• STRIKE workers refuse to work for a period of
  time.
• PICKET (right) A small group of union members
  can protest outside their place of work
• WORK TO CONTRACT workers carry out no duties
  other than those in their contract.
• OVERTIME BAN workers agree to work only the
  number of hours agreed in their contract.
• ACTIVITY Read Trade Union Action on p29/31
  and Restricting Union Action on p31 in your
  textbook
• Answer questions 1 to 4 on p31

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INDUSTRIAL ACTION FIRE FIGHTERS STRIKE 2002
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The Fire Fighters Strike

• In May 2002, the FBU (Fire Brigades Union) began
  a campaign for a 40 increase in wages.
• The employers (local councils) said they could
  not afford this.
• They said a big increase could only be agreed if
  the Fire Fighters agreed to modernise.
• The Fire Fighters disagreed and went on strike,
  refusing to attend fires and emergencies.

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Fire Fighters Strike 2002

• The dispute continued for over a year, although
  the after several strikes these were stopped by
  the FBU.
• After lengthy negotiations, the employers agreed
  to give a 16 increase in wages over three stages
  in return for some modernisation of the service.
• Who do think came off best in this dispute and
  why?

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ACTIVITY Industrial Action

• Copy this aim To understand the types of
  industrial action trade unions can take.
• Choose one of the Case Studies on pages 32/33 and
  answer the appropriate questions on page 33.
• When finished 3 pupils will report back to the
  class on their case studies, explaining
• WHO was involved in the dispute.
• WHY there was a dispute.
• WHAT action the union took.
• What the RESULT of the dispute was
• (who won?).
• EXTENSION Choose another Case
• Study and answer the questions.

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Should workers always join a union?

• Since 1979, the power of Trade Unions has been
  greatly reduced by the government.
• Some workers now feel there is little advantage
  in joining a union because they are not as
  powerful as in the past.
• Others believe that they still offer protection
  for workers against bullying by employers.
• We will now look at the arguments FOR and AGAINST
  joining a Trade Union.

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WHY JOIN A TRADE UNION?TASK 1 Look at the
following arguments decide which are FOR and
which as AGAINST joining a union. Write your
answer as a table.
Legal backing and advice is available to members
Negotiate (discuss) better pay and conditions
with employer
Being part of a big group makes it difficult
for employers to pick on their staff.
Already have good pay and conditions so do not
need union to negotiate
Wage rises go to everyone so even non members
get advantages without joining
Some people believe unions have too much power.
TASK 2 Read page 30. Then answer Qs 5 and 6 on
page 29. For Q 5, choose THREE of the benefits
to write about. EXTENSION Would you join a
trade union in the future? Write a paragraph
explaining why you would or would not join..
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SHOULD WORKERS JOIN A TRADE UNION?

• FOR

• AGAINST

Legal backing and advice is available to members
Wage rises go to everyone so even non members
get advantages without joining
Negotiate (discuss) better pay and conditions
with employer
Already have good pay and conditions so do not
need union to negotiate
Being part of a big group makes it difficult
for employers to pick on their staff.
Some people believe unions have too much power.
What do you think? Would YOU join a trade union?
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PARTICIPATION BY UNION MEMBERS

• Copy this aim To understand how trade union
• members can participate in the work of their
  union.
• Trade Union members can participate in a variety
  of ways in their Union.
• Q Why is it important as many members as
  possible participate in the work of a trade
  union?
• These can be on a DAY TO DAY basis, or at times
  when there is an INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE between the
  union and the employer.
• ACTIVITY Copy and complete the diagram on the
  next slide to show how members can participate in
  their union. Use a full page.

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PARTICIPATION BY MEMBERS IN TRADE UNIONS
Take part in industrial action, eg. strike, go
slow
Vote for secret ballot, eg. For a strike.
BOTH
Attend union meetings
Vote for union officials eg. Shop Steward
Communicate with the media
Pay membership fees
EXTENSION Read page 35 in your textbook and
answer questions 1 to 5 on page 36
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PARTICIPATION..?
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PARTICIPATION Test your understanding!

• Read the story about Craig Brewsters search for
  a new job.
• See if you can find up to EIGHT examples of how
  he PARTICIPATED in his trade union.

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REPRESENTATION IN TRADE UNIONS
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How do trade unions represent their members?
Take workers concerns to management eg. over
health and safety
Provide legal help for members who are unfairly
dismissed
Go on strike to win a compromise pay deal with
employers
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WHO REPRESENTS TRADE UNION MEMBERS?
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THE ROLE OF THE SHOP STEWARD

• Copy the heading above and the aim below
• AIM To understand what how a Shop Steward
  represents trade union members.
• TASK 1 Use the yellow box on page 34 to make a
  spider diagram on The qualities of a Shop
  Steward. Use coloured pencils.
• TASK 2 Read the fact file on Shop Stewards on
  page 34 and answer Qs 2, 5 and 6 on p35. Q6 is
  an ENQUIRY SKILLS question.

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Increasing female membership in unions.

• Collect the
• sheet from your
• teacher about
• increasing female
• membership in
• trade unions.
• Read it carefully
• and answer the
• questions in
• sentences.

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Percentage of union members and officials by
gender - 2004
What does this chart tell us about women in
official positions within trade unions?
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Why are women under represented in official
positions in trade unions?
Which of your points are SOCIAL (attitudes,
family) and which are ECONOMIC (money, type of
job) reasons for the under representation of
women?
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Under representation of women in official
positions Task 1 copy and complete this table

• SOCIAL REASONS

• ECONOMIC REASONS

Sexist men unlikely to vote for a female shop
steward
Some trade unions are dominated by men
intimidating for women
Women more likely to be in low paid work so might
not be able to afford fees
Family commitments prevent some women giving a
lot of time to their union
TASK 2 Read page 36 Of your textbook. Answer
questions 7 to 9 On the same page.
Women more likely to work part time less likely
to join A union
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Reasons for under representation of women

• SOCIAL

• ECONOMIC

Sexist men unlikely to vote for a female shop
steward
Some trade unions are dominated by men
intimidating for women
Women more likely to work part time less likely
to join A union
Some trade unions are dominated by men
intimidating for women
Family commitments prevent some women giving a
lot of time to their union
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Ethnic Minorities and Trade Unions
Proportion of ethnic minority workers who are
members of trade unions - 2004
ENQUIRY SKILLS Using the chart above, what
conclusions can you make about the membership
levels of ethnic minorities in trade unions?
(Highest and lowest?)
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Ethnic Minorities and Trade Unions

• Percentage of trade union members by ethnic
  group, UK 2004
• White 93.9
• Mixed 0.6
• Asian or Asian British 2.6
• Black to Black British 2.1
• Chinese or other 0.8
• ENQUIRY SKILLS What conclusion can you reach
  about the representation of ethnic minorities in
  trade unions using the table above?
• Why do you think ethnic minorities are under
  represented in trade unions?

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