Role of Trade Unions in South Africa

The issues that face workers is ever changing, in modern times a lot of the original issues seem to have been solved. Long hours, have been be replaces with mandated working hours defined by law, safety issues can be covered by OSHA, age limits again are decreed in law. Comparing modern day America to 1800’s America and the stark contrast in working conditions creates room for a strong argument opposing Unions and any tangible outcome they may produce besides lining their own pockets

In the early days of trade unionism, there was a direct need for workers to be represented, in areas such

Initially, the intent of labor unions was for employed workers to meet together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives and goals. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War, in the United States- responding to the industrial economy boom. Following the war, labor unions finally reached public popularity within the 1930-1950’s, and then again began to slowly decrease, through the 1960’s and on to today’s times. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries.

     The past of Unions is indisputable; however, the outlook can be altered to form a promising future. The reversal of history can be done through reconstruction and restatement of workers rights. A reestablishment of worker liberties should be considered in order to clarify any confusion in which present and prospective employees are faced with. Unions are notorious for being tyrannical and inconsiderate towards employees and thus union heads should confront this issue head on and give workers a voice (i.e. vote). In order to regain union strength in today’s society I believe Unions must give workers honorable rights and a democratic right to be heard.

Labor unions are lawfully recognized as envoys of employees in many companies in the United States. Activities of labor unions are centered on collective bargaining over workers’ benefits, working conditions, and salaries. They also stand in for their members in disagreements with management over the contract provisions violation. There are also larger unions that engage in activities of lobbying and electioneering at the federal or state level. In America, most unions are associated with one or two wider umbrella organizations. These unions stand to advocate legislation and policies on the workers’ behalf. They are also actively involved in workers politics, as well as issues of global trade but as times generations changed have they out lived their purpose. This paper examines labor unions, labor laws, NLRB and, the different generations represented in the workforce and how they affect the future of the Union.

Trade unions can be very powerful organisations, however their power does not inevitably lead to increases in wage rates, but not always.

The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease,

Employers initially resisted unions as they were seen as a ‘tool of worker power’, and some countries even banned the groups all together (Baoill 2011). Although these restraints have been lifted, restrictions and guidelines have been put in place by government bodies to govern union activity; and employees internationally have the right to form unions (Baoill 2011).

This brief history of more than 100 years of the modern trade union movement in the United States can only touch the high spots of activity and identify the principal trends of a "century of achievement." In such a condensation of history, episodes of importance and of great human drama must necessarily be discussed far too briefly, or in some cases relegated to a mere mention.

Firstly, employment tribunals and the courts have interpreted the concept of ‘workers’ too narrowly, by limiting the common law interpretation of ‘workers’ under section 230(3) of the ERA 1996 and rights conferred on workers. Under section 230(3) ERA 1996, ‘worker’ is defined as “an individual who has entered into work: under a contract of employment, or any other contract express or implied… to do

Labor Unions have become an important factor in our industries. For many years, labor unions have served as the main voice of the workers to their employers. The continuous effort of labor unions in helping the laborers ensure their rights in their jobs, acquire all the benefits they need and to eliminate the injustice experienced by workers in their workplace is still an ongoing process. In order to understand labor unions in general, knowing the roots of it is the best way to start. In this paper, the progress of the labor unions throughout history, the issues faced the developments it achieved, laws passed and the problem faced by today’s unions will be tackled.

The labor movement began during the industrial revolution and exists because of worker-employer relationships and working conditions, thus providing the landscape for labor power (Mahutga). Labor power can be broken down into associational power and structural bargaining power. Mahutga’s Lecture on Globalization and Labor builds on Beverly Sliver 's argument on the Forces of Labor and Tamara Kay 's argument on Labor Transnationalism and Global Governance about what Labor market power and Labor Transnationalism mean as regards labor on a global scale (Mahutga, Kay). Is it creating better standards for the working and living conditions of workers? Associational power results in collective workers ' ability to unionize and organize to present one opposing voice. Structural bargaining power results from the workers ' place in the economic system,

With globalization,many changes have been brought up in the workplaces that are leading towards more flexibility and enrollment of the employees (Tong Fay and Anil Verma,2002). “According to a survey -unionized workers across Canada earned$5- 28/hour more than non-union workers; Women with unions earned more too and got paid more fairly (Why unions? ,2015)”. Thus ,it gives us an idea what changes are being brought about by the unions in comparison to non-union when it comes to the wage sector. The union workplaces give a chance to the members to bargain for their benefits which includes not only social well being but also the say,the right to speak up about their own views therefore giving them the chance to talk about their problems. The union have been progressed to give a fair wage

Across the world vast majorities of workers are undergoing a series of major employment cataclysms. The deindustrialisation of the major western economies over the past thirty years has stimulated the emergence of new economic powerhouses, the global influence of neo-liberalism, and the associated transformation of the capital-labour contract, of which have all radically altered and shaped employment across the industrial world (Saad-Filho, 2002). In the context of these pro-capitalist dynamics, work as a whole is undergoing further transformation as jobs are now veering away from traditional employment models in favour of neo-liberal organisational systems (Bellucci, 2015). Unfortunately, such significant changes in international industrial

A trade union is defined by Smith (2008) as an independent self-regulating organization of workers created to protect and advance the interests of its members through collective action. Trade unions were of course very important once upon a time, but their job has been done. The age of mass production is over. The new world is all about individual relationships, and unions will wither away. “A glorious past perhaps, but no real future” says Jacob (2008).