Question

What do you consider to be the main roles of the trade union movement, and to what extent has the union satisfied these roles. Use a country of your choice. Discuss

Provide references.

Answer 1

A trade union is an organization based on membership of employees in various trades, occupations and professions, whose major focus is the representation of its members at the workplace and in the wider society. It particularly seeks to advance its interest through the process of rule-making and collective bargaining. Trade unions are independent democratic organization such as (NUPW- National Union of Public Workers) and (BWU- Barbados Workers Union) aimed at representing the interests of people at work and negotiating with employers for better terms and conditions for their members.
Trade union movement is where an organized attempt by workers such as the Customs Department, BIDC, Transport Board etc tries to improve their status by united action (particularly via labor unions) or the leaders of the movement.
Generally, workers in large and medium companies are organized by these trade unions, however it is a constitutional right of all Employees to join a union of their choice. Trade Unions are governed by the Trade Unions Act, Cap. 361 and provides for compulsory registration of all workers and employers organizations within three months of formation. The Barbados Workers Union is the largest and most prominent trade union in the private sector but also represents workers in the public sector. The second largest union is the National Union of Public Workers which operates exclusively in the public sector. The Barbados Employers Confederation is the main private sector trade union representing Employers and its membership is drawn from a wide cross-section of services. It plays a major role in the formulation of the Employers position on human resource management, labour relations, and occupational health and safety in Barbados.
The main objective of the trade union is to promote the interest of its members, with regard to the interest of the total labour force and to the greater interest of the country.

The main roles of these trade unions are
1) To effectively negotiate agreements with employers to protect pay, enforce safety practices and other conditions of service,
2) Discuss major changes to the workplace, such as large scale redundancy,
3) Discuss their members concerns with employers and establish and improve good relations between its members and their employers,
4) Accompany their members in disciplinary and grievance meetings and to secure satisfactory settlement of disputes,
5) Provide their members with legal advice in matters connected with work related disputes and breaches of contracts and protocol,
6) Provide education opportunities for the advancement of its members,
7) Maintain a stable industrial relations climate.

Trade unions in Barbados have tried to satisfy their roles, but are challenged by fundamental changes in the economy and in society in the past two decades. The image of trade unions has taken a beating in recent years amid wide-scale layoffs and a perception of powerlessness on the part of the unions to effectively protect affected workers. Compared with bygone years when unions would strategically flex their muscles through impactful industrial action and other forms of protest, it seems these days they are mostly complaining about their exclusion from decisions affecting workers.
The movement must reflect, evaluate and reinvent itself with innovative approaches, to ensure that it remains relevant. The trade union movement has to step out of its traditional role and become concerned with issues that are affecting our nation as a whole.