This report will outline the various factors which could be used as a source of reasoning behind the decline of power and membership of trade unions since the 1970's.

To: Chairman of Trade Union Council From: Sir Nitesh Patel R.E: The decline in membership of the trade union since the 1970's This report will outline the various factors which could be used as a source of reasoning behind the decline of power and membership of trade unions since the 1970's. In order to achieve a formidable conclusion, I have taken upon studying the following factors in greater depth which may contribute to the reasons for the decline in trade union membership, they can be briefly described by; The rise in part time workers; the change in the UK's dominant industry; the change in un/employment; the rate of employment in a particular firm (i.e. sole trader); hostile legislation brought about by the government; the age group; the willingness for unions to accept new members. Through the 1970's upon present, it has been recorded through census surveys and polls that there is an increase in the number of part time workers in comparison to full time workers. The drop in union density can be found in the increase of 'atypical' forms of employment, especially between 1995 and 2001. The number has increased by 58,000 people (part time). Through opinion polls, it has been found that part time workers are less reluctant to join trade unions as they feel it is either "a waste of money". The reasoning behind this expression is that if the trade union and its members

  • Word count: 1429
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Why are there laws to protect workers at British Airways and who is responsible for making and administrating the laws

Employment laws Why are there laws to protect workers at British Airways and who is responsible for making and administrating the laws? There are laws at British Airways for workers so that they are: * Treated fairly- not bullied at work or mistreated in any way. * Not discriminated- Making sure that a person is not treated differently because of that person's sex, race or any disability. * Safe at all times- Making sure that workers are in a safe environment at all times so no incidents occur. The main laws that effected employees at British Airways are: . Employment acts, 1980 and 1982- These acts reduced the power of trade unions in the workplace. * They allowed employers to refuse to negotiate with unions. * Striking employees were allowed to picket only their own place of work. 2. The trade union act, 1984- This act required trade unions to allow its members at a workplace to vote by secret ballot before the union could take industrial action such as strike action. 3. Employment act, 1990- Closed shops (workplaces where employees had to belong to a trade union) were made illegal under this law. Also, employers were allowed to sack employees who took strike action without first conducting a secret ballot. 4. Trade union reform and employment rights act, 1993- This act required unions to give an employee a week's notice of industrial action. The idea was to

  • Word count: 635
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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American Labor Movement.

American Labor Movement The American Labor Movement developed as a result of the organizations that unhappy workers were establishing. These men and women were determined to receive the rights and privileges they deserved as citizens of a free country. Unions of workers pursuing a common objective, began to form demanding only ten instead of twelve hours in a work day. Workers realized the importance of economic and legal protection against the powerful employers who took advantage of them. The beginnings of the American Labor Movement started with the Industrial Revolution. Textile mills were the fist factories built in the United States. Once factory systems began to grow, a demand for workers increased. They hired large amounts of young women and children who were expected to do the same work as men for fewer wage. Child labor in the factories was not only common, but necessary for a family's income. Children as young as five or six manned machines or did jobs such as sweeping floors to earn money. It was dangerous, and they were often hurt by the large machinery. No laws prevented the factories from using these children, so they continued to do so. Technology improvements continued to reduce the demand for skilled labor. With an abundance of new immigrants willing to work, and no laws protecting a worker's rights, businesses disregarded the lives of the individuals.

  • Word count: 856
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Work-life balance. In this essay, I will be writing on behalf of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). I will outline a policy that the NZCTU believes will help in this area, namely legislation making it easier for workers to achieve more flexi

One of the major issues that unions have been concerned with in recent years is work-life balance. Many workers face problems balancing their work with the other demands in their lives, such as parenting, caregiving, fulfilling responsibilities in the community, and having adequate time for leisure. In this essay, I will be writing on behalf of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). I will outline a policy that the NZCTU believes will help in this area, namely legislation making it easier for workers to achieve more flexible hours; discuss the various methods that the NZCTU can use to ensure this policy is adopted; and finally, assess the NZCTU's chances of success, given the balance of power between trade unions and other interest groups. What is the policy? The NZCTU believes that there are a number of changes that can be made to employment legislation that would make it easier for employees to achieve greater work-life balance. One such law currently going through Parliament is Sue Kedgley's Employment Relations (Flexible Working Hours) Bill. The bill aims to implement a number of processes that workers and employers can go through while negotiating flexible working hours. Firstly, the bill gives workers a clear right to request more flexible hours. Secondly, it gives employers the right to turn down such requests, but only for certain reasons, such as an

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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The Winnipeg General Strike.

The Winnipeg General Strike The province of Manitoba has endured a tumultuous history. It was born as a result of the Riel rebellion and its capital city, Winnipeg, was the sight of the only general strike in Canadian history. The Winnipeg General Strike, which took place shortly after the end of the Great War, brought, in the eyes of some, the specter of revolution to Canada. In the end, however, the strike was, from a labour standpoint, an abject failure, as virtually no long-term gains were made.1 It is difficult to comprehend how this strike, which lasted from May-June 1919 and began with between twenty-four and thirty thousand workers walking off the job (only 12,000 of whom were unionized)2, could end in failure but, when the events of the strike are examined in detail, it becomes apparent that the strike leaders themselves were, ultimately, responsible for their lack of success as they continually took steps which undermined their ability to force a resolution on their own terms. Labour unrest had been rampant in Winnipeg for many years and, although trade unions had made some modest gains, it was the employers, backed by government and the courts, who usually emerged victorious from the numerous work stoppages which took place. Employers, in fact, relied on the courts as a means of settling labour disputes to such a degree that Winnipeg became known, in colloquial

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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'The impact of legislation introduced between 1980 and 1993 is the principal reason for the long-term decline in strike activity after 1980'. Do you agree?

'The impact of legislation introduced between 1980 and 1993 is the principal reason for the long-term decline in strike activity after 1980'. Do you agree? The UK trade union movement seemed at the height of its power in the 1970s, bringing down governments and recruiting members in their millions. However after 1979 nowhere in Western Europe saw more of a sharp decline in unionisation than the UK, where trade unions were confronted by an intense neo-liberal attack after the election of the conservative party in that same year. 'The twenty year period between 1979 and 1999 saw the longest stint of decline in union membership falling from 66% in 1979 to just 36% in 1999' (?). Existing theories of macroeconomic conditions, the changing composition of employment, and changes in labour legislation have been largely successful in explaining these trends over time. This paper argues that no one explanation of union decline is successful in establishing what caused the downward trend in strike activity; several factors played a part in this fall. The purpose of this paper is to examine some recent explanations of the decline in trade union density in Britain in the 1980s and distinguish which explanation is most prominent. The first section argues that 'one model in particular can explain over 90 per cent of the decline in trade union density' (Disney 1990). This model

  • Word count: 3893
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Discuss the view that industrial relations represents a redundant and anachronistic form of management and regulation.

Discuss the view that industrial relations represents a redundant and anachronistic form of management and regulation. Over the last 20 years, the use of industrial relations (IR) as a method of management and regulation has become increasingly less prevalent. Trade union membership has steadily declined and the once solid ideal of collectivism now seems obsolete. The question of what has caused this decline has been the subject of a great deal of academic literature. Government legislation, macroeconomic conditions, a changing employment structure and more recently the rise of human resource management (HRM) have all been blamed for this trend, but the issue that appears central to this discussion is; has industrial relations become redundant and anachronistic or has it been made redundant and anachronistic? In order to discuss the issue of change within both industrial relations and the greater macro-economy we must first look briefly at where the field has come from, how it originated. We must then consider the debate on why such a strong limb in the body of industrial Britain has fallen so consistently since the start of the 1980's. This will position us well to discuss the value of industrial relations in the 21st century, and decide whether it does or does not represent a redundant and anachronistic view of management and regulation. Britain was the first country in

  • Word count: 3312
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Causes of the General Strike

History- Causes of the General Strike In this essay I will discuss the reasons for the start of the general strike, the long and short term causes. In the 1920's Britain was having a hard time on the industrial front. It had begun with the miners, the coal industry wasn't fairing to well and was declining rapidly and had been since 1918. This was because during the first world war the mines were run by the government and the conditions of the mines were good but also the wages were standardised which the miners had no problems with as the were very acceptable. As soon as the war was over the mines returned back to private ownership and cuts in wages were announced immediately. The fall in mining productivity was due to lack of demand for coal abroad and mining was under no doubt that it was now highly uneconomical. Due to the rapid fall in production the mine owners announced to the workers that their wages were to be reduced. The miners consequently went on strike to try and make the mine owners change their minds. Then the miners formed a TRIPLE ALLIANCE with the railway workers and transport workers (the National Union or Railwaymen and General Workers Union). The agreement said that under the triple alliance that the Railway union and the general workers union had to go on strike with the miners as a sympathy strike. This would cause major problems for the owners

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Account for the development of Trade Unions for the unskilled

Jenny Mason Account for the development of Trade Unions for the unskilled The 'new model unions' were for the skilled workers and only covered a small section of the working class which meant a great mass of unskilled and semi-skilled workers remained largely unorganised this was with exceptions of the Miners' National Union and the Agricultural Labourers' Union. During the 1880s the unskilled workers were organised into what is called 'new unionism'. These new unions' main features were that they charged minimal subscriptions and adopted a much more militant stance towards the employers; this meant that the unions were prepared to use the strike weapon to gain their objectives. The new unions also did not seek to exclude workers and they were organised across whole industries rather than just individual crafts. The new unions developed during the 1880s because there were fundamental changes taking place in society. Industrialisation had caused a huge drift between the employer and employee. The employers saw themselves as part of the 'middle class'; this made the workers more class conscious and believed they had to fight to obtain a higher standard of living. The new unions provided an outlet for this class feeling which was waiting to be tapped. The opportunity for improvement came with an improvement in overseas trade which meant there was almost full employment

  • Word count: 1281
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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Account for the much lower level of strike incidence in Britain in recent years. Are strikes 'withering away' as a feature of British industrial relations?

Debbie Hardy 15/05/02 Account for the much lower level of strike incidence in Britain in recent years. Are strikes 'withering away' as a feature of British industrial relations? Strikes are often seen as workers most powerful weapon in a dispute because of the financial loss imposed upon the employer. They can generally be defined as a 'collective withdrawal from work by employees intended to modify employer behaviour'. The official definition of a strike in Britain are those lasting at least a day and involving at least ten workers, unless a total of 100 or more striker days is involved. Strikes are counted by the Employment Department, which uses reports from Unemployment Benefit offices, returns from some public sector organisations and newspapers and other sources, to identify stoppages. There are three main measures of strikes: the number of separate stoppages; the number of workers involved; and the number of days 'lost'. The number of recorded strikes was larger decade by decade in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The upward trend peaked in 1970 at 3906 strikes and by 1979 the number had fallen to 2080. But both the other two measures of strike activity - the number of workers involved and working days lost - were historically high in the 1970s. In the 1980s the decline in the number of strikes speeded up and there were major reductions in the other two measures

  • Word count: 2536
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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