Trade Unions

Definition of the Trade Union

Trade unions, also known as labor unions, are organizations of employees in a particular trade, industry, or business that are formed through collective bargaining in order to improve wages, benefits, working conditions, or social and political status (Perera, 2016).

 

 

History 

Trade unionism (also called organized labour) emerged in Great Britain, continental Europe and the United States in the 19th century as an organized movement. The term labor movement is synonymous in many countries with trade unionism (International labour Organisation, 2017).

 

Modern Developments

The evolution of Human Resource Management has resulted in a shift in corporate culture. This technique's schemes, such as career enrichment, job rotation, and multi-skilling, have all aided in increasing working-class participation. The use of industrial action has shifted in type as workers seek to negotiate ideas with management in order to avoid a more costly line of action. This approach has a direct impact on the decline in trade union membership. It has also made it more difficult for labor unions to represent workers by introducing performance-based pay and replacing collective bargaining agreements with individual contracts, as workers are increasingly subjected to varying terms of employment. (Sri Lanka Labour Force Statistics, 2017).

The strength of the labor movement has always been linked to the state of the economy at the time. In times of full employment and rising incomes, unionism loses some of its appeal, especially among younger workers, while in times of recession, it becomes more appealing. By the end of the twentieth century, globalization of the labor market had presented new challenges to the labor movement, essentially undermining collective bargaining in industries where workers could be replaced by a cheaper labor force in another part of the world (Perera, 2016).

Conclusion

Technology and automation are changing the way society is currently organized around work, in tandem with the emergence of a service economy and precarious work. It is already having a direct impact on workers in certain low-wage jobs, but people in more secure white-collar jobs, such as accounting, will soon see changes in their working lives as well.

These reforms will inevitably result in job losses and disruption, so trade unions will play an important role in determining how much money is spent on reskilling and retraining employees who may lose their jobs. Furthermore, the 21st-century labor union will help shape how technology and automation are used in our workplaces, championing decisions that empower workers, increasing demand for human capabilities, and improving productivity.

 

 

References

International labour Organisation, 2017. Labour migration in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ilo.org/colombo/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm
[Accessed 28 April 2021].

Perera, A., 2016. Women’s Labour Force Participation In Sri Lanka, s.l.: The Sunday Leader.

Sri Lanka Labour Force Statistics, 2017. Statistics.gov. [Online]
Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.lk/samplesurvey/LFS_Q1_Bulletin_WEB_2017_final.pdf
[Accessed 28 April 2021].