Types of Trade Unions
- A trade union is an organisation that represents the interests of its workers in negotiations with a firm’s management or owners
- The interests of the worker include
- Wage & non-wage benefits of employment
- Health & safety in the working environment
- The reduction of discrimination & worker exploitation
- Trade unions are usually formed by the members of specific industries
- Airline pilots have a pilots' union
- Rail & sea workers have a rail & maritime union
- If there is no specialist union for an industry, most economies have a number of general unions which any worker can join e.g. In the UK, UNISON is the largest trade union, & it represents workers from across the public sector including those working in local government, education & health
- All trade unions can be classified into one of four categories
Types of Trade Unions
Type of Union |
Explanation |
|
General Union |
These represents skilled & unskilled workers in any industry e.g. truck drivers, football referees, musicians & gardeners |
|
Industrial Union |
These represents workers in the same industry. Anyone in the industry can join, irrespective of skill level or seniority e.g. The Fire Brigades Union in the United Kingdom |
|
Craft Union |
These represent skilled workers with a specific trade e.g. painters, electricians |
|
White Collar Union |
These represent professional office-based (‘white-collar’) workers e.g. financial advisors, teachers, architects, designers |
