Book Description

British Trade Unions Today is concerned with the trade union movement in Britain, how it operates, and how it strives constantly to achieve its objectives. This text examines why the British people hold trade union membership cards, why they do it, how they do it, what they expect from their unions, and how the trade union movement affects the citizens of Britain. This book consists of nine chapters and begins by discussing the history of trade unions in Britain, with emphasis on how various forms of organization came about and how they are now. The next chapter focuses on the legal battles faced by British unions to fight for their right of formal existence and compares the legal framework for industrial relations in the United Kingdom with that in the United States. The reader is then introduced to the societal goals of trade unions and what they have achieved so far, particularly with respect to improving wages and employment conditions. The chapters that follow consider the rationale for the unions' establishment of a national center, the election and selection of union officers, and union communications and publicity. This book also examines how trade unions conduct collective bargaining, along with their finances, and concludes by assessing the future of the unions in the context of the social environment in which they operate. This reference material will be useful to trade union leaders and members as well as companies and policymakers who deal with unions.