DOCSLIB.ORG

Trade Unions at Work

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Trade Unions at Work Publications and further information The TUC publishes a wide range of reports, leaflets, books and DVDs. We also produce a downloadable educational resource pack for schools and youth organisations, A Better Way to Work, to help young people prepare for the world of work. We have an extensive website at www.tuc.org.uk. This contains press statements, campaign news, policy briefings, statistical information and publications for sale. Register online for free email news updates matching your areas of interest. Reprint of revised edition May 2010 4K Design: Eureka! Print: College Hill Press ISBN 978 1 85006 862 4 Contact details: Trades Union Congress Congress House Great Russell Street London WC1B 3LS Tel: 020 7636 4030 Fax: 020 7636 0632 www.tuc.org.uk If you do not belong to a union and want to know which Trade unions one to join, phone the TUC ‘Join a Union’ line on: 0870 600 4882 at work Calls are charged at the national rate. Front cover photo: For more information about the TUC’s different activities what they are and what they do try one of our websites: John Harris/reportdigital.co.uk www.tuc.org.uk (main site) www.worksmart.org.uk (help and advice for everyone at work) www.unionlearn.org.uk (for learners and learning reps) www.unionhistory.info (TUC archives online) Printed on a FSC Certified Product Including a guide to the Trades Union Congress Contents Introduction 03 Introduction: The world of work the world of work 04 Section 1: Unions today 12 Section 2: The TUC 22 Glossary Work dominates modern life. In Britain today there are more than 29 million people in paid employment. Most people spend up to a quarter of their lives at work – longer, on average, than anywhere else in Europe. Work can be satisfying, enjoyable and rewarding, and most employers treat their workers fairly. But some do not. When the TUC ran a bad bosses hotline over 5,000 people in one week called to complain about the way they were treated by their employer. And even the best bosses can make mistakes from time to time. That is where unions come in. Unions exist to help people at work. Unions want to make the workplace a better place. This pamphlet explains how unions work in modern Britain: the job they do for their members; the way they help boost business; and how they help make Britain a better place to live and work. Simon Weller Photo: 02 + 03 Section 1 Ten things unions do for their members Give advice when members have a problem at work. trade unions today Represent members in discussions with employers. Help improve wages and working conditions by negotiating with employers. Make sure that members’ legal rights are enforced at work, in employment tribunals and even in the courts. Support the thousands of union members who act as volunteer union representatives in workplaces. Provide education and training courses for workplace representatives – including health and safety reps and learning reps. Broker learning opportunities for members. Fight discrimination and help promote equal opportunities at work. Provide services for individual members such as More than six million people belong to TUC CASE STUDY welfare benefits, personal legal help, financial unions: that is almost one worker in every five. services, discounts on insurance and holidays. Pensions for part-timers Wherever people work there are union members Lobby the Government and others in support – or potential union members. After a legal ruling that of policies and laws that help people at work. part-time workers had Trade unionists do all sorts of jobs: they include factory the right to be members workers and computer programmers; office staff and of occupational pension shop assistants; bus drivers and airline pilots; teachers schemes, many unions and soap stars; musicians and motor mechanics; joined the TUC in applying footballers and chiropodists. to the courts to ensure Union members include men and women; full-time and that the new rights were part-time workers; people in big businesses, and those backdated. After a five- in small ones; people who work for the Government year battle in the courts, and those who work for themselves. involving 22 test cases and culminating in a ruling Union members are no different to anyone else, by the European Court except they tend to be better paid and have better of Justice, thousands of working conditions because they have someone to part-timers won the right stand up for them. to claim benefits they had been denied for years. Duncan Phillips/reportdigital.co.uk Photo: 04 + 05 Five facts about unions Why unions? The vast majority of the top 50 companies CASE STUDY Unions work on the simple principle that while an CASE STUDY have formal bargaining agreements with unions. employer might be able to ignore the views of a single Sick building syndrome No more needles This is called ‘recognition’. worker, if all workers speak with one voice the employer In Tower Hamlets, safety has to take notice. Unions encourage their members to In North Lanarkshire safety Unions win more than £320m a year in representative ­­Adrian take part in collective decisions on workplace issues and representative Jim Cowan compensation for members who suffer injuries, Grieves noticed high levels these views are then put to the employer. found that caretakers in tower or who are discriminated against at work. of sickness absence in two blocks were finding discarded Accident rates are higher for non-union members, new buildings. He raised needles and were expected who are twice as likely to be seriously injured this with management and to deal with them despite as those who work in places where there are Unions internationally asked the Health and Safety having no training or special union safety representatives. Executive to investigate. This equipment. After the union • There have been unions in Britain for well over The average union member earns more than led to an improvement notice intervened specialist disposal a hundred years. the average non-member. For example, in private being served and a major was arranged by the council. companies the union ‘mark-up’ gives members refurbishment, including a • Today there are unions in virtually every country an extra 7p in the £. new ventilation system that in the world. has dramatically decreased The average union member gets seven days more • The International Trade Union Confederation, which levels of sickness. paid holiday (30 days of annual leave, excluding represents unions around the world, currently has bank holidays) than the average non-member 168 million members in 155 countries. (23 days). • In countries as far apart as Zimbabwe and Bangladesh Almost every improvement in workplace conditions unions are at the forefront of campaigns for major – for example, equal pay laws, stronger health social change. and safety legislation, statutory redundancy pay, the National Minimum Wage and better rights for agency workers – came about following pressure from trade unions. Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk John Birdsall/Press Association Images Simon Weller Photo: Photo: Photo: 06 + 07 How unions work In bigger workplaces there will be a number of representatives, sometimes from different unions, speaking Union members in the same workplace will get together on behalf of different groups of workers. And in very big from time to time to talk about common problems. workplaces some of these union representatives will spend The issues most likely to come up are pay and pensions, much of their working day dealing with union business, safety, unfair treatment of a group or individual, or simply talking to management and solving problems on behalf the way work is organised. The union members will of their members. usually elect someone to speak on their behalf – a shop Most sensible employers welcome these arrangements. steward or ‘representative’. This representive – or ‘rep’ – will They understand it is better for workers to have an then discuss their concerns with management. Where the independent means of dealing with problems rather than union has a recognition agreement with management they letting them fester, or hoping they will be sorted out will have regular formal discussions. by the supervisors or line managers who are sometimes the cause of the problems. Working together Unions contribute to the success of an enterprise by helping employers plan for the future and manage change. Sometimes companies and unions have to find imaginative solutions to changes in demand for goods and services. Working together means both sides can explore ways of bringing benefits to employees as well as the enterprise. By law, where more than 10 per cent of the workforce request it, employers must inform and consult workers about issues in the organisation, but some of the most dynamic companies work routinely with the unions to keep their workforce informed on crucial issues. In large companies that operate in more than one EU country European Works Councils, in which unions reps often play a part, are consultated where big changes or redundancies are planned. Learning with unions Unions aren’t just about work: they also help members get on in life by offering learning and skills opportunities. These include literacy, numeracy and language courses, and the chance to progress in further and higher education. A union’s specialist adviser in this area is called a union learning rep. John Harris/reportdigital.co.uk Photo: 08 + 09 Beyond the workplace The changing membership Union members from different workplaces in the same Some people join a union when they start work and CASE STUDY area meet in union branches. There will often be regional don’t leave until they retire. Dyslexia brought to book committees too, and in all cases a national body elected But today most people change jobs a number of times by the members to run the union.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Signalling Moderation: UK Trade Unions, 'New Labour' and The
    LSE ‘Europe in Question’ Discussion Paper Series Signalling Moderation: UK Trade Unions, ‘New Labour’ and the Single Currency Steve Coulter LEQS Paper No. 121/2016 December 2016 Editorial Board Dr Abel Bojar Dr Bob Hancke Dr Jonathan White Dr Sonja Avlijas Mr Hjalte Lokdam All views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the LSE. © Steve Coulter Signalling Moderation: UK Trade Unions, ‘New Labour’ and the Single Currency Steve Coulter* Abstract The paper examines why, and under what conditions, certain interest groups adopt positive positions on international economic issues. It provides a case study of how UK trade unions formed their preferences on membership of the EMU. Previous explanations of this have tended to emphasise the international dimension – either the material benefits on offer or whether or not they became ‘Europeanised’. A few authors are now exploring domestic political explanations instead. The paper builds on this growing literature to argue that the TUC, the peak association of organised labour in the UK, became extremely pro-EMU as part of a strategy to demonstrate its moderation to Tony Blair’s centrist ‘New’ Labour party, which was distancing itself from unions to court business. Keywords: New Labour, trade unions, interest group politics, EMU, Europeanisation * European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science Email: [email protected] UK Trade Unions, ‘New Labour’ and the Single Currency Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 UK trade unions and ‘Europe’ .................................................................................. 2 2. The TUC and European Integration: Shifting Preferences .............................. 5 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade Unions and the Capitalist State.Pdf
    ,/ ~· InzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAparticular, texts such as Th~rborn:s, l/7ha/ b Dou /he Rllling Clan DokjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Unfortunately there has been a tradicional failure amongst Marxists to Ir,mlll UII/U?, and Poul~tzas , S/a/e, POllJer, JOCla/IJIII, expllcltly con- :..:".r-'~~~- address the relationship between trade unionism and the state in a 't"""." rJj; cáhed tfiemselves with tracing and delineating the changing patterns , - I ~ rigorous dialectical fashion. Therborn's valuable perception, for ..,'.~.~<~ of bourgeois-democratic rule In \Ore ff1ollop·6!y==capinrtistera:! The ¡/ 1 instance, that as a collective mass organization, 'the labour movement \ \ si~f1íficantchanges were broadly seen to entail : a s_hiftin the lo¿us 0L isorganized in a fundamentally different way from the state bureaucracyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA dccision-rnakinp from parliament ro the techno:ratic/exec~tive appar- l or a capitalist firm,' was not carried over to examine the contradietions , --l:> atus of tfie state¡ the fus!on of tIle stafeat ~Ievel wHh the top that arise when trade-union represent¡1tives)oin state personnel and echelons of ca )italis..!_s~rise¡ and the gener:1Qre:úilllg...do.wn of the capitalist management in 'institutionahzed Joint bodles' .• For his <7 public-prizate boundaries hat previously characterized bourgeois part,-Poulantzas made httle attempt to clarify the slgnificance of his e de/riocracy. It glrt ese observations, taken in themselves, were by passing observation that ' "reformist" trade unions are now directly no means new, either within or withour the Marxisr problematic, their inserted in the (state) administrative structure'v! Particularly in Iight: systematic location within a Marxist theory of the state was much to be applaudcd.
    [Show full text]
  • Governance & Securities Law Focus: Europe Edition, April 2013
    APRIL 2013 EUROPE EDITION Governance & Securities Law Focus A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR CORPORATES AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS In this issue: In this newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the EU DEVELOPMENTS 1 European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) Publishes an Update of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (“CESR”) principal European, US and selected global Recommendations Regarding Mineral Companies 1 Revised ESMA Framework for Third Country Prospectuses 2 ESMA Publishes Feedback Statement on the Role of the Proxy governance and securities law developments of Advisory Industry 2 European Commission Publishes an Indicative Roadmap for its interest to European corporates and financial Revision of Shareholders’ Rights Directive 2 European Commission Publishes an Indicative Roadmap for Enhancing the EU Corporate Governance Framework 3 institutions. European Parliament Publishes Report on Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”): Promoting Society’s Interests and a Route to Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery 3 ESMA Publishes Consultation Paper on Draft Regulatory Technical The previous quarter’s Governance & Securities Law Focus Standards on Specific Situations that Require the Publication of a Supplement to the Prospectus 3 newsletter is available here. Commission Legislative Proposals on Anti-money Laundering 4 FRENCH DEVELOPMENTS 5 Asymmetric Non-Exclusive Jurisdiction Clauses in Contracts with French Parties 5 GERMAN DEVELOPMENTS 6 EU DEVELOPMENTS Reform of German Insolvency Law on Group Insolvencies 6 Amending Proposal
    [Show full text]
  • A Better Recovery for Yorkshire
    A better recovery for Yorkshire A plan to get Yorkshire growing out of the crisis – and stop mass unemployment Author Gareth Forest (Lewis) TUC Yorkshire & the Humber 114 Wellington St Leeds LS1 1BA [email protected] 0113 200 1075 About the TUC The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together more than 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions, and represent 600,000 workers across Yorkshire & the Humber. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living. © Trades Union Congress Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS 020 7636 4030 www.tuc.org.uk For more copies call 020 7467 1294 or email [email protected] Contents Key recommendations summary .................................................................................................. 4 Introduction: The situation we face .............................................................................................. 5 Recommendation One: Make Yorkshire a Fair Work region ........................................................ 8 Implement a Fair Work Charter [R1.a] .................................................................................. 10 Business support must be conditional on union access and fair work [R1.b] ...................... 11 Delivering Fair Work through procurement, commissioning & investment [R1.c] .............. 12 A regional jobs guarantee [R1.d] .........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • World Federation of Trade Unions Aug 1983.P65
    Foreign Affairs Note United States Department of State Washington, D.C. WORLD FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS: August 1983 SOVIET FOREIGN POLICY TOOL The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) was founded Historical Background in Paris on October 3, 1945, in the brief postwar era of good feeling between the victorious Western nations and the The WFTUs original 1945 constitution proclaimed its main Soviet Union. The British Trades Union Congress, the objective to be the improvement of the living and working American Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), and the conditions of all peoples of the world. Just what this meant to Soviet Unions All Union Central Council of Trade Unions the communist members, however, became clear shortly (AUCCTU) were the principal architects of the WFTU. after U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshalls June 1947 However, by 1949-following the WFTUs communist- speech proposing a huge U.S. effort (later known as the engineered attack on the Marshall Plan-all the Western Marshall Plan) to help reconstruct Europe. Nine days later, trade unions except the communist-dominated ones had left the WFTU General Council issued, without the consent of the the organization. In a 1949 declaration, the CIO stated that noncommunist members, a response that firmly aligned the the WFTU is no longer a trade union organization, but is en- organization with the communist camp: tirely dominated by communists and their puppets, and little Capitalist monopolies are making use of their economic power to intensify more than an instrument of the Soviet government. The the exploitation of labor. They seek to impose unacceptable and anti- major democratic trade centrals, including the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Privatisation and Trade Union Mobilisation: the Electricity Industry in the UK and Argentina
    Ghigliani, Pablo The Politics of privatisation and trade union mobilisation: The Electricity industry in the UK and Argentina Ghigliani, P (2010). The Politics of privatisation and trade union mobilisation : The Electricity industry in the UK and Argentina. Bern : Peter Lang. (Trade unions past, present and future ; 3). En Memoria Académica. Disponible en: http://www.memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/libros/pm.646/pm.646.pdf Información adicional en www.memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar Esta obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ To Mariana, who knows why; to Catalina and Teresa, who will; and to Tecla, who won’t. Contents List of Tables ix List of Abbreviations xi Chapter One Introduction 1 Chapter twO Developing the Analytical Framework 7 Chapter three Research Strategies and Methodologies 29 Chapter fOur Privatisation as Counter-Mobilisation 45 Chapter five The Driving-forces of Privatisation in the UK and Argentina 63 Chapter six Comparative Industrial Relations and Mobilisation Theory 75 Chapter seven The Anti-Privatisation Campaigns in the Light of Mobilisation Theory 95 viii Chapter eight List of Tables The Forms of Counter-Mobilisation: The Politics of Money 137 Chapter nine Privatisation and Collective Bargaining 169 Table 1 Detail of Case-Studies 35 Chapter ten Table 2 Distribution of Interviews among Trade Unions 37 Organisational Change, Leadership Styles and Decision-Making 207 Table 3 Main Primary Sources 39 Chapter eleven Table
    [Show full text]
  • The Soviet Union and the British General Strike of 1926 Alastair Kocho-Williams University of the West of England, Bristol [email protected]
    The Soviet Union and the British General Strike of 1926 Alastair Kocho-Williams University of the West of England, Bristol [email protected] This paper addresses the Soviet analysis and response to the British General Strike of 1926 in the light of newly available documents. The recently discovered and published stenograms of Politburo meetings provide new information concerning Soviet politics and the political process. Previously, scholars have had only Soviet official documents and protocols of Politburo meetings, which only detail participants with a brief summary of decisions (vypuski) along with who received these summaries.1 From the protocols, and other sources, scholars were aware that verbatim stenograms existed, some of which were published and distributed to Central Committee members and other party leaders with instructions for them to be returned after they had been read.2 Amongst the ‘lost Politburo stenograms’ is the record of a lengthy, heated, discussion of the ‘lessons of the British General Strike’ on 3 June 1926.3 It is this that the current paper is chiefly concerned with, detailing the Soviet stance towards the General Strike, inconsistency in the Soviet analysis, the extent to which Soviet internal politics was linked to foreign policy, how as senior figures disagreed factions developed around divisions in policy, and the way in which the handling of the international situation formed a strand of the opposition to Stalin and the Politburo majority in 1926.4 The British General Strike ran from 4-12 May 1926. Although it drew British industry to a halt, and hadn’t been planned much in advance, there had been ample warning of a coming labour dispute, of which the British and Soviet Governments were well aware, although the Soviets had concluded that major action was unlikely I am grateful to Paul Gregory and Alexander Vatlin for their assistance in the writing of this paper.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Provisions Underlying Trade Unions' Right to Define Their
    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 10, 3925-3936 OPEN ACCESS Legislative Provisions Underlying Trade Unions’ Right to Define Their Organizational Structure Victoria V. Korobchenkoa, Yury V. Penova and Valery A.Safonova aSaint Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, RUSSIA ABSTRACT The article contains a comparative analysis of constitutional and other legislative provisions that ensure a trade union’s right to define its own administrative structure in European states. The aim of the study is to reveal the management’s problems of European trade unions, declarative and empirical mass-character legislative provisions, which allow to structure trade unions by themselves. The result is that the state should not set forth an exhaustive list of various types of trade unions. The article also examines the authority of trade union associations to define the requirements imposed on their members’ charters. These requirements are argued to comply with the principle of the freedom of association. Moreover, the work reveals that many European legislative provisions are declarated but rarely realized in sphere of inner management. The novelty of the research is the comparative analytic review, basing on the modern local and collective European laws. KEYWORDS ARTICLE HISTORY Trade union, freedom of association, trade union Received 18 March 2016 associations, trade union charter Revised 03 May 2016 Accepted 22 May 2016 Introduction The right to freedom of association is an integral part of a person’s constitutional rights. In labour sphere, workers exercise it and employees either form or join trade unions that serve to protect their rights and interests. According to International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining belong to the major principles of the labour sphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade Unions Are Organisations That Represent People at Work
    What do trade i unions do? This is a basic guide to what a trade union is, what we do and why you should join. What is a trade union? Trade unions are organisations that represent people at work. ‘Representing’ 1could mean someone from the union meeting with management on behalf of a member or a group of staff or taking up a problem with your employer for you. Trade unions aim to protect their members. This includes making sure that 2workplaces are safe and that people’s health is not being put at risk through their jobs. It also means legal protection – trade unions usually employ lawyers to make sure that companies and organisations treat their staff in accordance with the law. Trade unions aim to improve their members’ pay and conditions. If a single 3member of staff approaches management because they feel they should be paid more, they are much less likely to be successful than if every member of staff speaks as one through their trade union. Trade unions collectively negotiate better pay and conditions on behalf of their members and, statistically, union members earn more than non-union members. What do trade unions do? l Trade unions speak on behalf of their members. l Trade unions provide members with information, advice and guidance about work-related problems. l Trade unions provide members with a range of services including training, insurance, financial services and legal advice. UCU factsheet 01 What do trade i unions do? l Trade unions bargain with employers to get better pay for members.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade Unions
    session 13. 1 march 1922, noon Trade Unions Reports on the trade-union question. Chair: Kolarov. Speakers: Zinoviev, Bokányi, Lozovsky, Brandler. Zinoviev: We have present with us in this hall a delegation of Hungarian com- rades who have been released from the prisons of white Hungary and arrived in Moscow yesterday. These are comrades who conducted themselves heroically and also acted as revolutionary fighters during the trial. (Bokányi of the Hungarian delegation was given the floor. He eloquently greeted the Russian workers and the Third International. The session then moved to the next point on the agenda.) Reports on Trade-Union Question Lozovsky: I will speak first of the trade-union question’s general importance. The provisional council of trade-union federations, established on 15 June 1920 at the trade-union Zimmerwald, did not at first have a clear programme. The first congress of revolutionary trade unions was held in Moscow 3–19 July 1921. It laid the foundation stone of the great trade-union international.1 In building the Red International of Labour Unions there has been a contra- diction from the outset. It includes, on the one hand, entire organisations, as in Russia, Yugoslavia, and Spain and, on the other hand, minorities in the old reformist organisations. It consists of four currents: 1.) A rather large number of Communists, who have a precise and clearly defined programme. 1 A reference to the July 1921 founding congress of the Red International of Labour Unions (RILU, also referred to as the Profintern, based on its name in Russian). The ‘provisional coun- cil’ formed in June 1920 was the International Council of Trade and Industrial Unions.
    [Show full text]
  • Organising Precarious Workers: Trade Union and Co-Operative Strategies
    Organising Precarious Workers: Trade Union and Co-operative Strategies A report for the TUC from Co-operatives UK and the Co-operative College . Acknowledgements We are very grateful to Carl Roper and the TUC for commissioning this report. We would also like to thank those interviewed whose expertise and guidance has been invaluable. The TUC member trade unions that responded to our survey were very helpful to us as have been the trade unions in the USA, the Netherlands and Italy that we made contact with. We are especially grateful to Paul Bell (Unison), Diane Widdison (The Musicians Union), John Park (Community Union), Andrew Morris (NUT), Martin Smith (ex‐GMB), Kevin Brandstatter (GMB), Maria Ludkin (GMB), Les McVay (City Cabs), Mark Hooper (IndyCube), Adrian Roper (Cartrefi Cymru Co‐operative), Dr. Guy Turnbull (CASA), Laurie Gregory (The Foster Care Co‐ operative), Rick Wilson (Community Lives Consortium), Bruno Roelants (CECOP‐CICOPA Europe), Sarah de Heusch Ribassin (SMart, Belgium), Michael Peck (1Worker1Vote ‐ USA), Camille Kerr (ICA Group ‐ USA), Kevin Ford, Kim Matthews and Elizabeth Matthews. Pat Conaty (Co-operatives UK), Alex Bird (consultancy.coop) and Cilla Ross (The Co-operative College) 2 Foreword The trade union movement faces a number of big challenges as it seeks to continue to be a genuine and effective voice for working people. Not least amongst these is how trade unions organise and represent the ever increasing number of people in vulnerable or precarious employment. One emerging way to help vulnerable workers make their jobs better is through the formation of worker co‐operatives. The TUC, as part of its Rethinking Organising series, asked Co‐operatives UK and the Co‐operative College to report on the good practice examples of vulnerable and self‐employed workers self‐ organising and working with trade unions in the UK, Europe and in the Unites States and to set out their recommendations on how this work between trade unions and co‐operatives can be developed and widened.
    [Show full text]
  • Trade Union Membership and Dismissals
    IZA DP No. 5222 Trade Union Membership and Dismissals Laszlo Goerke Markus Pannenberg September 2010 DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit Institute for the Study of Labor Trade Union Membership and Dismissals Laszlo Goerke Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, CESifo and IZA Markus Pannenberg University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld, DIW Berlin and IZA Discussion Paper No. 5222 September 2010 IZA P.O. Box 7240 53072 Bonn Germany Phone: +49-228-3894-0 Fax: +49-228-3894-180 E-mail: [email protected] Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. IZA Discussion Paper No. 5222 September 2010 ABSTRACT Trade Union Membership and Dismissals* In Germany, there is no trade union membership wage premium, while the membership fee amounts to 1% of the gross wage.
    [Show full text]