Trade Union

"A Trade Union (Labor union) is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment"

What is a trade union?

A trade union is an organised group of workers. Its main goal is to protect and advance the interests of its members.

A union often negotiates agreements with employers on pay and conditions. It may also provide legal and financial advice, sickness benefits and education facilities to its members.

A trade union is an organization that employees can join in order to have their interests and goals better represented. A worker will pay an annual subscription and in return will have their interests more powerfully represented than if they had to negotiate with employers on their own.

Workers acting together in a trade union can counterbalance the power of large firms. This is due to collective bargaining where all trade union members are balloted (given the opportunity to vote) on issues and a trade union representative then negotiates with the employer on their behalf. The negotiations and relationship between a trade union and an employer is known as industrial relations.