But , although Britain has seen a decline in the number of unions , there is still a much larger number than exist in other European countries . Many workplaces have a multi-union presence with different unions representing different grades of staff within the various bargaining units . It is known that the structure of British trade unions and their forms of workplace organisation has seen a reduction in smaller bodies , an increased blurring of the distinctiveness of occupational groupings , and occasional inter-union rivalries .
The trade unions in Britain have played a very big and critical role within the British industrial relations . In order to provide a united voice in defence of trade union rights , they established the Trade Union Congress which would be held every year to discuss issues of importance to the labour movement . The Trade Union Congress established in 1868 and represents the political arm of the trade union movement , existing as a basic affiliation of member unions . It was mainly formed to give trade unions a political voice , and an organisation whereby unions could make debates about the affairs and issues of the trade union movement as a whole .
The basic functions of the Trade Union Congress are political , in terms of its pressure group activity , and administrative , providing a range of services such as shop steward training . The TUC only occasionally is involved in strikes and mediates in inter-union disputes . The TUC has a near monopoly of representation , with high levels of union affiliation at over 80 per cent of trade unionists . In terms of representation , the TUC elects the General Council of approximately 40 members to run its affairs and carry out different policies between each annual congress . The most important functions of the Trade Union Congress are :
1) As a regulator of trade unions in terms of inter-union
conflicts .
2) Service provision for affiliates , particularly in the areas
of education and research but also financial and legal
services .
3) As the spokesperson of the trade union movement as a
whole , particularly in representations with governments
, and in seeking to influence economic or employment
policies .
4) As a spokesperson for affiliates in the international arena
like the European Union or solidarity links with trade
unionists in other countries .
It has to be said that the Trade Union Congress was criticised over years as politically weak and fragmented . The weakness of the TUC were exposed after the election in 1979 when the government adopted a hostile stance towards trade unions . Criticisms of the Tuc as ineffectual were furthered by its inability to resist anti-union laws introduced throughout the 1980s , but more specific criticisms came over the lack of vigorous support of the miners during the strike over pit closures in 1983/4 and more recently over the dockers’ lock-out on Merseyside .
It is essential to see in brief how trade unions are financed in order to achieve their objectives and what else resources are required to be effective . The major financial resources of British trade unions come from membership subscriptions and interest from investments . Some unions charge their members a flat rate subscription paid either weekly or monthly whilst others , particularly those representing the interests of relatively high paid non-manual employees , charge members a subscription rate on the basis of a percentage rate of their pay .
As it is mentioned earlier , the Trade Union Congress accepted too many criticisms about its role and actions . Despite the fact that
the TUC is the only one central organisation of the British trade union movement , in recent years has suffered from big financial problems and has been forced to make economies and take actions which would make it again financially strong . The TUC is the acknowledged spokesman and representative of the British trade union movement in relation to society or the public at large . Under the role of spokesman , the main aspect of the TUC is to inform the public for the objectives and policies of trade unions , not only on union matters but on matters relating to society more generally . Under the 1994 campaign for Change Programme , the TUC is focused on promoting a renewal of confidence in the concept of employment , on developing trade union responses to the HRM agenda , and on campaigning for a right of representation for workers in relation to their employers , and rights for trade unions in relation to trade union organisation and recognition .
Internationally , the TUC is a prominent member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions which was formed in the early post-war years and has its headquarters in Brussels . The ICFTU consists of 196 affiliated organisations in 136 countries , with a combined membership of approximately 124 million . It is the spokesman for much of the international trade union movement and presents trade unions views on world economic , social and political issues to the public at large and to relevant international institutions , such as United Nations agencies . Also the TUC represents the British trade union movement at the ILO , an agency of the UN with headquarters in Geneva . The ILO is a tripartite organisation , with each county’s delegation consisting of representatives from government , employers and unions .
In the post-war decades up to 1980, trade unions made a big and recognised involvement in many areas of British national life . Trade unions had to meet and satisfy the needs of its members . Thus , their role was to take actions and make decisions that would achieve better conditions for the working people . The ares that trade unions had a recognised and accepted involvement were :
1) Economic affairs and incomes policies
2) Social policy
3) Training
4) Health and safety
5) Representation on a range of bodies such as the Royal
Commissions and the Boards of Nationalised Industries .
Mainly the primary purpose of the trade unions was to protect the jobs of their members and to enhance their pay and conditions of employment by the process of collective bargaining and the lobbying of political decision-making bodies .
After talking about the British trade union movement and describing its role within the British society , it is being asked to examine the Swedish trade union movement in order to see , by making comparisons , in which country trade unions perform effectively and bring more success .
At the turn of the century Sweden was a poor agrarian society with high emigration . Sweden became an industrial society later than most of other European countries . The Swedish trade union movement started to develop during 1880s . The first Swedish trade union confederation (LO) was formed in 1898 .
In nowadays , the establishment of a union in Sweden does not require any acceptance or registration by government authorities or courts . Any group of employees has the ability and freedom to form its own union which will be covered automatically by the current legislation of industrial relations . The more advanced union rights are reserved for unions holding contracts . The most important of these rights is the right to initiate bargaining on any major changes before they take place and the right to access to company information . There are very few newly-organised unions in Sweden , mainly because the existing unions serve their members effectively .
The Swedish trade union system is consisted of three main union confederations . These are , the LO (Swedish trade union Confederation) the TCO ( the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees ) which dominates the blue and white-collars sector respectively . SACO ( the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations ) is the third confederation which consists of professional unions organising employees who generally posses an academic degree .
The LO consists of 20 affiliated unions with a total membership of 2.3 million people including retired members . This means that the LO covers more than 90 per cent of blue-collar employees which is a very high density by international standards . The majority of the affiliated unions are organised on an industrial basis with one union in each company or site . The largest unions are the Swedish Municipal Workers and the Swedish Metal Workers’ Union . The main role of the LO is to represent its affiliated unions in the areas of social and economic policy . The LO is the direct voice of its affiliated unions and its aspects are to take actions in order to satisfy the need of its members .
The second biggest confederation , the TCO , was formed lately in 1944 by the merger of two organisations , one covering private sector employees and the other covering public sector employees . 19 unions are affiliated to TCO having a total membership of 1.3 million members . The TCO does not take part in collective bargaining , but is very active in training and represents its unions in negotiations with the government on general economic and social policies . The largest member unions are SIF, the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical employees in Industry (300.000 members ) , SL , Teacher’s Union (193.000 members ) and SKTF , Swedish Union of local government Officers ( 185.000 members ) . The largest member unions are “ vertical “ industry unions , which means they organise all white-collar employees at all levels in an enterprise . The other member unions are organised on an occupational basis .
The third confederation , SACO , is the smallest of the three confederations . Its affiliated unions are 25 and have around 300.000 members totally . The unions are organised primarily on the basis of common academic background . The unions with the biggest density are those which organise teachers in secondary education and graduate engineers . SACO has also bargaining cartels for the state and local government sectors .
The LO plays a very big role in the political scene of Sweden . It has traditionally strong links with the Social Democratic Party (SAP) . The LO supports the party financially particularly in elections campaigns . A significant part of the local electoral work is also carried out by unions activists . The strong links between the LO and SAP are also demonstrated through the recently abolished system of collective membership . The close relationship is also reflected in the party’s leadership and in the government . During the long period of Social Democratic Government (1932-1976) approximately half the cabinet was recruited from the union leadership .
More than 90 per cent of blue-collar employees and some 80 per cent of white-collar employees are members of trade unions in Sweden . This exceptionally high union density by international standards is explained by several factors . One basic factor is that the unemployment benefit system in Sweden is administered successfully by trade unions . It is very natural for most employees to belong to a union , because the unions protects them against any possible unemployment . Other benefits offered by the unions also help them in recruiting members . It can be easily said here that the trade union involvement was successful because of the strong links they had with the Social Democratic Party which governed in Sweden for a long period of time . This close relationship between successive Social Democratic governments and LO helped the unions to establish themselves as a significant and well-established force in Swedish society . Thus , for most Swedes it is almost automatic to join a union when they enter the labour market . They feel safe and secure by joining a union . This is very important issue because unions are becoming stronger and more powerful . Its true as well that union membership as a total , has not fallen in recent years .
It can be said that , watching the British and Swedish trade union movement , trade unions in Sweden have bigger and stronger density which make tem more powerful . The majority of workers in Sweden join the union with pleasure because they feel secure and safe towards any fears of possible unemployment . The main reason for that is the big and successful steps that have been maid over years by the trade unions . They have built up a very strong and always ambitious image unlikely the Uk trade unions which lost dramatically their power after they were heated strongly by conservative governments and their legislations during the last 3 decades .
It can be also said that the structural system of Swedish trade unions is better and more flexible . The Swedish trade union model has three central organisations each one having different occupational categories , comparing with the British which has only one central organisation . It’s fact though that both of them use the same methods like collective bargaining and joint consultation in order to achieve its objectives . Both of them actually are very active , as it appears by reactions against government policies during long periods . But the trade unions in Britain became less powerful and it can be said that they lost too much of their voice during conservative governments , and particularly Mrs Thatcher’s who tried almost to disappear trade unions by making privatisations and giving more power to management . Its true as well that British trade unions faced more tasks and issues which forced them to take more actions compare to Swedish who didn’t face so much hostility from their governments .
