trade unions

• Examples of trade unions in the UK are

• Workers join together in trade unions to

• A trade union• Unison is• Someone might

speak to their trade union if

• They were unhappy about not being paid overtime

• the UK’s largest trade union

• Equity, the Fire Brigade Union and the EIS

• Have more influence when discussing their demands with employers

• Wants to improve the working conditions and rights for its members

Match the Head with the Tail in

your jotters

• To understand 4 reasons why some people decide to join a trade union

• To understand 4 reasons why some people decide not to join a trade union

• Answer an enquiry skills question about trade unions

To understand why some people join a trade union and why some people don’t

To be successful you will be able to…

REASONS FOR JOINING A TRADE UNION

• Can negotiate better pay and conditions with employers

• Workers who are members of a trade union earn more money

• In 2006, members in a trade union earned on average £12.43 per hour

• People who weren’t members earned on average £10.66 per hour

• Other benefits of being in a trade union include:

Reasons for Joining a Reasons for Joining a Trade UnionTrade Union

• Also…

• People are part of a group so employers will find it hard to victimise (pick on) staff

• Legal backing and advice is available to employees

REASONS FOR NOT JOINING

A TRADE UNION

Many well-paid workers do not see any point in joining a trade union

Low paid and part-time workers may think the cost of the membership subscriptions is too high

HEADING!

People working for small family businesses may not see the need to

join a trade union because they know the

boss

People who do not join a trade union will still get the

benefits which the union fights for without having to pay the membership or lose

wages by striking

Other reason for not joining…

• Some people object to unions as they think that they have too much power

Using the figures above, describe how the viewpoint of Gemma Smith is exaggerated. Answer in your jotter. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE FIGURES!!!

View of Gemma Smith

All workers are part of a union. It doesn’t matter whether you work in the public sector or private sector – everyone is still a member of a union.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Union Member Private SectorMember

Public SectorMember

2006 figures of % of workers who are members of a union

28.416.6

58.8

You should now be able to…

• Understand 4 reasons why some people decide to join a trade union

• Understand 4 reasons why some people decide not to join a

trade union

• Answer an enquiry skills question about trade unions