1. Trade Unions Why Do People Join A Union? Participation Rights Responsibilities Representation

2. Examples of trade unions in the UK are Workers join together in trade unions to A trade union Unison is Someone might speak to their trade union if They were unhappy about not being paid overtime the UK’s largest trade union Equity, the Fire Brigade Union and the EIS Have more influence when discussing their demands with employers Wants to improve the working conditions and rights for its members Match the Head with the Tail in your jotters Recap on Previous Lesson

3. Learning Objective To understand why some people join a trade union and why some people don’t Success Criteria • To understand 4 reasons why some people decide to join a trade union • To understand 4 reasons why some people decide not to join a trade union • Answer an enquiry skills question about trade unions To be successful you will be able to…

4. REASONS FOR JOINING A TRADE UNION

5. Reasons for joining a trade union • Can negotiate better pay and conditions with employers • Workers who are members of a trade union earn more money • In 2006, members in a trade union earned on average £12.43 per hour • People who weren’t members earned on average £10.66 per hour • Other benefits of being in a trade union include: Loans Discounts Insurance Pensions

6. Reasons for Joining a Trade Union • Also… • People are part of a group so employers will find it hard to victimise (pick on) staff • Legal backing and advice is available to employees

7. REASONS FOR NOT JOINING A TRADE UNION

8. Reasons for not joining a trade union HEADING! Low paid and part-time workers may think the cost of the membership subscriptions is too high Many well-paid workers do not see any point in joining a trade union

9. Reasons for not joining a trade union People who do not join a trade union will still get the benefits which the union fights for without having to pay the membership or lose wages by striking People working for small family businesses may not see the need to join a trade union because they know the boss

10. Other reason for not joining… • Some people object to unions as they think that they have too much power

11. Enquiry Skills Question 58.8 2006 figures of % of workers who are members of a union 28.4 16.6 All workers are part of a union. It doesn’t matter whether you work in the public sector or private sector – everyone is still a member of a union. View of Gemma Smith Using the figures above, describe how the viewpoint of Gemma Smith is exaggerated. Answer in your jotter. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE FIGURES!!!

12. Have you been successful? You should now be able to… • Understand 4 reasons why some people decide to join a trade union • Understand 4 reasons why some people decide not to join a trade union • Answer an enquiry skills question about trade unions