...Do you believe that trade unions have a strong future in Australian industrial relations? If so, why? Trade unions have been described as organisations of workers set up to improve the status, pay and conditions of employment of their members and associations of workers who by means of collective bargaining endeavor to improve their working conditions, economic and social position (Salamon, 1992). Trade unions face many implications, declining union density, rapid expansion into casual labor market and decline of the manufacturing industry as a job provider.Trade unions have played a major role in the development of Australia and will continue to do so, however its critical that they adopt a form of union renewal to apply to the changing environment of Australia, as these changes can influence and affect the conditions for renewal and also can affect the way unions organize and regroup. Hymen (2002) suggest that in last three decades have seen a radical transformation of global capitalism with the liberalisation of currency markets; the acceleration of transactions through advances in information and telecommunications technologies; and the breakdown of the American-dominated post-war system of international monetary stabilisation. Deprived of much of their previous room for shaping macroeconomic policy, governments too have typically embraced policies of 'deregulation' to increase flexibility in labor markets. While the extent of such challenges varies substantially cross-...
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...Introduction What is a trade union? The definition of a trade union varies in different countries. A commonly used definition of a trade union is by Webbs (1984), which states that a trade union is “a continuous association of wage earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment”. Trade unions were well-received by the workers during the age of the industrial revolution. During that period of time, workers are in a weaker position as they do not have the power to choose their job, as opposed to their employers choosing their workers (Williams and Adam-Smith 2006). Labours are mainly made up of unskilled or semi-skilled workers. Unskilled workers do not possess any skills thus having the weakest power in employee relations. Semi-skilled workers on the other hand possess some firm-specific skill which gives them some power like in wage settings (Grosfeld and Nivet 1999). Since the goal of the employer is to employ workers at the lowest cost and workers have weak power, they are unable to secure a good wage or benefits. There is also managerial prerogative in which managers have “the right to manage” because they are the “legitimate agent of the employer” and have the possession of certain skills (William and Adam-Smith 2006) resulting in workers having no voice in decision-making. As a result of the difference in power between workers and employers and the lack of voice in decision making, this entices workers to join a trade union. The main roles...
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...Severe Awareness Safety Union Over millions of homes and businesses have been lost since the earth was created due to severe weather and fire damages. With my future technology, it will save all homes and businesses (which are also called Severe Awareness Safety Union s or unions) from any severe weather and fires causing a great impact on society, the economy and the government. IMPACT ON SOCIETY People will never lose their homes or businesses due to weather or fire again. If there’s a tornado, flooding, blizzard, or hurricane occurring, the homes/businesses will program the unions to go underground. If there’s an earthquake, the unions will hover above ground to prevent any damages to the unions. It will be design to where an alarm will go off whenever bad weather occurs, somebody will have to acknowledge it, alerting everybody in the unions, and stating the position of the union(if its elevate above or below ground or returning back to land. The movement will be design to where you avoid feeling the motion as the union elevate up and down. No matter the location of the unions, it will function the same as it would on land. If a fire occurs, the unions will extinguish itself with a built in fire-agent sprayers, that will spray out whatever fire-agent is needed to extinguish that particular type of fire. The unions will also be built with fire-resistant material to prevent fire damages to the unions. Unions will only go above or below ground for severe weather conditions...
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...The standard view in the West during the development of the Cold War was that the Soviet Union conducted an expansionist policy which was seen to threaten peace and collective security. The provocative and expansionist nature of Stalin’s foreign policy after 1945 was singled out as the prime cause of the Cold War and, as the Soviet Union sought to expand world communism, the West was forced into taking action to safeguard the free world. However, a closer examination of Soviet foreign policy during this period illustrates a combination of mistrust and a lack of understanding which arguably led to a misinterpretation of Stalin’s motives for expanding Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. While there is evidence that supports the Orthodox view that Stalin’s expansion was aggressive, new arguments have come to light to support the idea that the Soviet Union “wanted to guarantee its security in the future” and can therefore it was simply a defensive move. One key factor responsible for the incorporation of Eastern Europe into the sphere of Soviet control was the presence of the Red Army in Eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War. Although Stalin was willing to accept coalition governments, in the eastern European states the USSR had occupied, in the years immediately after the Second World War, the tension generated by the Cold War resulted in the trend towards the imposition of communist governments on the countries of Eastern Europe. Thus developments in this region of...
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...Annotated Bibliography Trends in my Profession: Credit Unions Teresa Watkins February 26, 2016 NAICS Code for Credit Unions 522130 It is important for my organization to have the ability to provide online services to our membership. Most importantly for convenience, online services allow members to manage their accounts, conduct transactions, and stay informed of their account status. We must remain competitive, as there are many credit unions to choose from. We can begin with creating a brand that is unique; one that is associated with education, customer service, excellence, and empowerment. Annotated Bibliography Lucas, P. J. (2000). Where Do CUs Really Lag? Service To Women. Credit Union Journal, 4(50), 4. This article explains how credit unions are behind the curve in understanding of the power of marketing to women. Studies listed show that women are more likely than men to use the services of their financial institution than a brokering firm. Credit Unions can use the information provided in this article which explains that women are educated, equally compensated, and more willing than men to change to a financial institution that provides the services they are seeking. Studies show that call inquiries into credit unions are more from women than men. This study and others are from Female Demographics. There is another study to support the findings in this article by Raddon Financial Group. The information provided was helpful in understanding why marketing...
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...orLabor Unions: Aging Dinosaur or Sleeping Giant? The Labor Movement and Unionism Background and Brief History Higher wages! Shorter workdays! Better working conditions! These famous words echoed throughout the United States beginning in 1790 with the skilled craftsmen (Dessler, 1997, p. 544). For the last two-hundred years, workers of all trades have been fighting for their rights and seeking methods of improving their living standards, working conditions, and job security (Boone, 1996,p.287). As time went by, these individuals came to the conclusion that if they work together collectively, they would grow stronger to get responses to their demands. This inspired into what we know today as labor unions. A labor union is an organized group of workers whose purpose is to increase wages and influence other job conditions for its members (Parkin, 1998,p.344). These labor unions can be divided into two types: craft unions and industrial unions (World, 1998). A craft union is a union whose membership is restricted to workers who possess an identifiable skill (Robinson, 1985,p. 69). These members tend to be better educated and trained, and more unified because of common interests (World, 1998). An example of a craft union is the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (World, 1998). On the other hand, an industrialized union is a group of workers who have a variety of skills and job types but work for the same industry (Parkin, 1998, p. 344). Unions of this type include...
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...transpired. Gone are the days where the rich owned servants and the metal smiths flourished with business. Employment became centralized around assembly lines and factory work initializing the biggest change the economy had seen and capitalists were at large with their ability to mass-produce. Post industrialism and globalism silenced the roar, leading us where we are today, with a heavily populated and unskilled service industry. This leaves society wondering, “what is the future of work”? In this written essay, we will explore the future of work by focusing on the current situations and what possibilities might transpire. The following topics will be covered: • The real reasons for precarious work popularity and it’s outcome on the labor force • The impact of unions and what their disappearance would bring • Post industrial Canada and the effects of international business on industries • Environmental threats on the primary industry • The future of technology on work As we’ve seen with pervious trends, the future of work is heavily reliant on the current situation. In today’s economy most workers are faced with inequality and job insecurity resulting in unemployment, precarious work, or furthermore dangerous jobs. The human capital theory suggests that an equal opportunity is available for everyone but only those individuals with the higher skill sets will end up in virtuous work opportunities (Krahn et al. 2011, p. 108). Canada’s education system is non-discriminating and it...
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...European Identity The European Community, now known as the European Union, was created in the 1950’s after the world wars. After World War II europe wrose us and decided to come together to prevent anything like that from ever happening again. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands came together and established the European Coal and Steel Community to control these resources in order to control the countries’ production of weapons. This made sure that no country produced weapons to start another World War. The European Community was formed to keep Germany under control and make sure another Nazi Party never formed ever again. The European Union was supposed to make peace between these countries and slowly grow over time. The goal was to make the these countries codependent of each other economically, so that it would prevent them from going to war with each other. If the countries depend on each other to keep their individual economies alive they would not be tempted to start a war. However, an identity for all these joined countries is the most idea idea to keep them united and at peace. “The European Commision introduced the concept of European identity already at the Copenhagen summit in 1973” (Pawel Karolewski). The goal was the from a European vision of the United States by making requirements that need to be met to join the Union, like like democracy and human rights laws, and also bringing the people together with programmes that have government...
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...of important European directives. There is also a regulatory agency, the Health and Safety Executive, HSE, which is supposed to enforce the legislation and which is itself responsible to the overseeing body, the Health and Safety Commission, HSC. The question is how far the UK system of health and safety protection for employees at work is now threatened by the government’s deregulation programme. Trade Union s and Health and Safety Since the mid 1970’s the trade union movement has played a pivotal role in health and safety at the workplace through the system of trade union appointed safety committees and safety representatives. Section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, under which safety committees were established provided for the appointment of safety representatives by ‘recognised trade unions’ (that is, by independent trade unions that the employer recognised for the purposes of collective bargaining on terms and conditions of employment). Section 2(5) of the Act required the election of safety representatives by the workforce instead of trade union appointment. This requirement was removed by the passage of the Employment Protection Act 1975. Thereafter,...
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...Commonwealth was founded. The union consists of 54 independent member states that are linked together by a common history and set of values. Critics of the Commonwealth emphasize that the organization is an outdated and meaningless construction that builds on xenophobic and oppressive values. In this article “A royal salute to the commonwealth, 2001” by Peter Oborne. In this article there is given answers to the critics and the writer Peter Oborne gives answers to the questions: What will be the role of Commonwealth in the future? Will the organization have anything to say against great powers such as the United States and the European Union? The first point in the article is about the British royal visit to Canada. Peter Oborne is a journalist and political commentator he followed their trip they among other things visited Canada’s National War Memorial. They are at this location to remember the fallen Canadian soldiers who fought alongside the British during the two world wars. Peter Oborne sees this visit as evidence that the two countries work so well together which can be seen as a direct result of the Commonwealth union. According to Peter Oborne one of the main points is that the leaders of Britain are looking down on the union. He believes the leaders have focused too much on the relationship with the US and EU, but he thinks it's just a matter of time before the leaders of Britain get their eyes up to the commonwealth. Peter Oborne thinks the Union is a good...
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...Lincoln's position on slavery and its future in the United States. It also predicted events that were to occur in the near future. This speech revolved around Lincoln's debates and his Democratic Party opponent, Stephen A. Douglas. This campaign was consumed by the nationwide debate over slavery and its possible expansion from its historical base in the South into the northern free states. Douglas was representing the pro-slavery Democratic Party, and he argued that slavery would continue to exist in the United States without threatening the existence and stability of the Union. In his view, each state should have the right to determine whether or not slavery should exist in that state. Therefore, the democratic progress would decide slavery's status in each state. Douglas believed that free states and slave states could coexist peacefully with each other. Lincoln was representing the abolitionist, anti-slavery Republican Party, and he argued that slave states and free states could not coexist with each other since the two sides, pro-slavery and anti-slavery, held radically different views on this subject. It was obvious that the issue of slavery had grown in importance in a way that it consumed the whole nation. There would never be reconciliation between the anti-slavery and pro-slavery camps. Because of this, the continuation of slavery in the South would tear the nation apart. In Lincoln's view, there were only two possible futures. In...
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...for the dire predictions in the press of a European Union (EU) on the verge of bankruptcy and dissolution. Meanwhile, financial markets backed off from their attacks on the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) while those porcine countries moved forward with significant reforms, slashing their deficit and debt levels. German growth in the last quarter has driven eurozone growth to above U.S. levels, giving pause to euroskeptics and glee to euroboosters on both sides of the Atlantic. And yet the EU is far from out of the woods. The past two years of global economic upheaval have sorely tested the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its crowning achievement, the euro. At base, the problem is simple: the EU is an outlier in political and economic history, and markets do not know what to expect from its unique combination of a single currency and separate nation- states. The eurozone crisis reveals the challenges of the EU’s sui generis political status—no longer a mere collection of nation-states, yet not a fully fledged federal entity. What, then, should we expect for the future of European integration? What does the stillunfolding eurozone crisis mean for the larger geopolitical position of the EU? Absent a crystal ball, any response is necessarily hazy and conjectural. Nevertheless, it is possible to sketch out some significant milestones and signposts that will determine the path of Europe’s future. The critical question is whether the leaders and...
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...Invitation to an international union meeting 22 March to 24 March Paris Solidaires Union Federation France Union and Popular Central Brazil General Workers Confederation Spanish State Workers Democratic Organisation Morocco International Trade Unionism : we are building the future This call has been launched by trade unions from Europe, Africa, America and we have diverse affiliation or non-affiliation to the International Trade Union Confederation, the World Federation of Trade Unions. We also participate in various international trade union networks, etc. All our unions recognize the unionism of struggle, workers' democracy, self-organisation of workers and the need for social transformation. The crisis of the capitalist system has consequences in the world. Economic, financial, environmental and social crises interact and become self-reinforcing. The global crisis of capitalism shows a shared impasse based on increasingly unequal distribution of wealth produced, financial deregulation, free trade and the widespread disregard for ecological imperatives. To save the profits of the shareholders and owners, to ensure the future of banking and global institutions (the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, etc.), governments and employers place increasingly heavy burdens on workers' rights and workers. The current economic and political system organises the looting of many countries, forcing millions of people to leave their region of...
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...Employee Relations What are the implications of the decline in union forms of representation for effective employee voice within workplace? Introduction: Union has been a very important part in employee relations. This was actually the voice of employees towards the management/ employers at workplace. Basically union is “an association, combination, or organization of employees who band together to secure favourable wages, improved working conditions, and better work hours and to resolve grievances against employers” (Bagchi, 2003). Unions always try to protect workers right and maintain a balanced relationship between workers and management. Unions’ existence can be traced from the 18th century, when the rapid growth of industrialisation took place. This industrial growth drew attention of women, children, rural workers and immigrants to the work force in different roles and actions. This unskilled and semi-skilled work force continuously organized them to fit in to the system from the beginning; and later become an important arena for the development of trade unions. In recent age the relationship between employee and employer has changed so does the process of representation process. The relationship between employee and employer should have some sort of equality in it. But as a matter of fact this has rarely be a case when an applicant or employee gets the choice to select the desired workplace or work itself from the employers. It’s rather more driven by employers’...
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...Introduction In the industrial world, the conditions and terms of many employees are negotiated by a union. In 2007 agencies such as Visser and OECD show that the rates of unionization are 70% in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Places like the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland have around 30% followed by the United States that just barely at 10% (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, 2009). Although these numbers seem high, the have declined steadily over the years and even as much as 50% in the case of the United States since the 1960’s (Robbins, Coulter, Leach & Kilfoil, 2009) . Although these declines are significant, it’s safe to say that unionized workplaces will play a crucial role in the global economy. Management strategies and practices between unionized and non-unionized workplace environments have many differences and has been then focus of many studies. The laws concerning employment and worker’s unions vary from country to country so for these purposes I’ll focus mostly on Canadian and North American practices. Pros and Cons of Unionized Environments The imbalance between employer and employee have always been lopsided. There was a time when employers had all the power when it came to contract negotiations. Not only would they possess the money needed for someone to survive but laws typically favoured the employers and in some cases to the extent of slavery. It was so one-sided that workers could be criminally convicted for not fulfilling a contract, no matter...
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