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AS and A Level: Trade Unions

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  1. Conflict at work: Industrial Disputes

    After the announcement of the result of the vote, Blunkett attacked the Police Federation by stating that by rejecting the offer they have made it clear that they'd rather not bear witness to a reformed and modernised police service. Blunkett added that this isn't the first time the Police Federation have resisted change, in fact he believes they've been at the forefront of it for 'decades'. The Home Office blames chief constables for not outlining the merits of the new deal, whilst results of a poll shows a trend of distaste on the new deal by the fact of overtime pay being slashed.

    • Word count: 1474
  2. For my report I will be analysing the recent events of the fire brigade strike. To start off it is important to address the reasons what they are going on strike.

    They are also prepared to take industrial action to further its member's interests. This will be later discussed in the report in more detail. In a business situation the function of the Fire Brigade Union goes in more depth in regards to their function, these include * Obtaining satisfactory pay rates. They are currently in negotiations of increasing the pay of Professional fire fighters from �29,531 to �30,000. This is represented as a 40% pay increase. This is a highly substantial pay rise however the fire fighters have justified their reasons for this.

    • Word count: 2868
  3. Why did the General strike of 1926 take place?

    During the war Britain could not compete with countries such as Japan and the U.S.A who began selling their goods into British markets. The price of English coal dropped immensely the government were not helping the working class. In 1919 The Sankey commission recommended that mines stay under government control, but in 1921 the mines were returned to the mine owners. This was bad news for the miners and they called it black Friday. In 1925 there was a government subsidy for nine months to keep up miners wages.

    • Word count: 725
  4. A trade union is an organisation which employees join to gain greater power and security at work

    Often, not necessarily, this includes different skills Fire Brigades Union (FBU) General unions These unions recruit members from all industries and types of employer, and across the whole range of skills and types of work The General Municipal Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union (GMB) White-collar unions These unions attract members who tend to be office rather than direct manufacturing production workers, hence 'white-collar' rather than 'blue-collar' of the traditional stereotype of the factory worker The National Union of Teachers (NUT); Banking Insurance and Finance Union (BIFU) Types of industrial action by trade unions: * GO SLOW The workforce keeps on working but at the absolute minimum pace to avoid bing subject to legitimate disciplinary action.

    • Word count: 739
  5. Impact of Industrialisation - The purpose of this essay is to describe and discuss the changes, which have taken place in working practices since 1960.

    In their breaks they were expected to clean their machines, however the machines were never stopped but just slowed down for the cleaning. The factory work was exhausting and difficult. The hours of labour were long and they had no holidays, various children also worked, in these poor conditions and for long hours as everyone else. The wages were not high but the advantage was that they would rise. For the first fifty years working practices changed very strongly, although there were laws passed to project workers they were difficult to enforce.

    • Word count: 2488
  6. Women in World War One - Describe the employment opportunities of women in Britainat the outbreak of the war?

    Employment opportunities opened up in the fields of Domestic Services, Textiles and Sweated trades. The war also opened up opportunities for high qualified women and women in the armed forces as many organizations such as the Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) and The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) were started for the first time which increased potential opportunities for women. Similarly organizations were set up such as the 'Work for Women fund' which helped women who were made redundant before the war to get there jobs back during the outbreak.

    • Word count: 547
  7. 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.

    The reasoning behind this expression is that if the trade union and its members do win a battle to increase the pay, it'll affect every member within the organisation, even those who aren't union members. Non-members can therefore still benefit from fringe benefits and perks such as a new canteen, vending machines and new uniforms without any contribution what-so-ever. It can therefore be said that the principle behind this attitude is quite unfair, however quite realistic and goes around in many organisations.

    • Word count: 1429
  8. The Coalfield, 1919 - 39

    Unemployment in Wales reached its peak in '32, with 165,000 out of work. Merthyr is an extreme example of this - in 1935 nearly half its population was redundant. This lack of work led to mass emigration, and from 1924 the population fell steadily to only 2.4 million in '39. Many made for Slough and Sussex and some even headed for Australia. Source A2 (Coal Production and Exports From South Wales) Source A2 shows both coal output and export from south Wales for every year from 1920 to 36. It is undoubtedly very useful, as it shows the most clear, straightforward evidence (i.e.

    • Word count: 1979
  9. Social impact of ICT.

    An old fashioned secretarial job required typing skills, note taking skills, filing skills, and document organizational skills. Most managers now act as their own secretary, the manager has been reskilled and she has been made redundant. New Job opportunities In the last few years the accelerated expansion of the internet and associated computer technologies ICT = many thousands of new jobs opportunities: Computer hardware, software engineers > Network designers/developers > Graphic designers > Web designers > Multimedia designers. Internet service providers (isp's)

    • Word count: 1629
  10. I have been asked to inform you, as secretary at Cooper & Courtney Solicitors about union membership.Throughout the report I will be examining the nature of unions (what they are,who can join and how they work), I will also examine and evaluate th...

    Their main goals are to better wages, working conditions and ensure that they have a meaningful job. They are there to help you participate in decisions that you want to make. When considering joining a union you should take into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of being a member. The advantages of union membership is Collective Bargaining Power, you are given legal advice on workplace issues, you get councilling services, membership discount and also associated services. The disadvantages on the other hand is that you have loss of individual control over a situation, you loose a certain amount of income due to strikes and financial costs need to be contemplated, which is usually several hundred dollars although it is tax deductible.

    • Word count: 1994
  11. Explain fully and clearly the importance of negotiation within industrial relations to resolve disputes


    • Word count: 996
  12. How has the power of the Trade Unions changed in the last 20 years?

    The government managed to weaken the power of trade unions through successive legislation made in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988. The two most significant acts were the 1980 and 1982 Acts. The 1980 ("Prior") Employment Act, although produced in conjunction with the trader unions so not as hard hitting as preceding Acts narrowed the definition of Lawful picketing and secondary action. The 1982 ("Tebbit)

    • Word count: 442
  13. What were the main effects of the 1979-1997 Conservative governments&#146; reforms to collective labour law and what distinguishes the approach taken by the current Labour administration?

    The Labour Party, formed in 1893, has its' roots firmly in the industrialisation era. It is traditionally working class in membership. Jon Monks (cited in Salamon pg104) said that "Labour and the trade unions had shared values: primacy of collective bargaining, expansion of the welfare state and state intervention to promote economic growth and employment." The Labour Party was elected to power in 1974. Though as 'New' Labour the party has now adopted "The Third Way" at that time, it still supported the Corporatist ideology, part of which meant supporting the trade unions and collective bargaining.

    • Word count: 3442

    was founded in 1868. Britain still remains one of the only countries to have a specific national trade union centre in the form of the TUC. Over the following century the British trade union structure evolved into a highly fragmented system, notorious for its complexity. Mergers and legislation were constantly changing the emerging relationship between its three key actors - state, employers and unions (Kelly, 1997). The percentage of workers that belong to an organised union has fallen by 28% since membership was at its highest in 1979 (Machin, 2000). This represents a significant shift in the way labour is organised within this country.

    • Word count: 3312
  15. How did US Labour Movement change in the period 1945-60?

    American unions consisted mainly of wage-earning, manual workers, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, usually hourly paid and lacking much in job security. Such unions were based in industries such as mining, iron and steel, lumber trade, manufacturing, transport and construction. Part of the working class was white-collared, part uniformed like railwaymen. [Renshaw, 1991, pp1-2] The AFL had been in existence for fifty years to protect craftsmen. It regarded semi- Skilled and unskilled workers in mass production as inferior, unorganised and a danger because they could undercut wages and break strikes.

    • Word count: 1691

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