Trade unions Edexcel International GCSE Economics revision
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In plain words
One worker asking for a pay rise is easy to refuse. A thousand workers asking together, and able to stop work together, are much harder to ignore. A trade union is how workers join forces.
How much a union can win depends on how strong its position is.
5 things to know
- A trade union is an organisation of workers that represents its members' interests to employers.
- Its main job is collective bargaining: negotiating pay, hours and working conditions for all its members at once. It also protects jobs, improves health and safety, and supports members in disputes.
- A union is stronger when most of the workforce are members, when the workers are skilled and hard to replace, when the firm is profitable, and when unemployment is low.
- If talks fail, a union may take industrial action: a strike, an overtime ban, or a work-to-rule.
- Higher wages won by a union raise firms' costs. That can lead to higher prices, or to fewer workers being employed.
Tips and tricks
- Collective bargaining is the key term. Define it in any answer about what unions do.
- A balanced answer on unions gives both sides: members gain better pay and conditions, but firms' costs rise and some jobs may be lost.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Trade unions: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What is collective bargaining?
Workers bargain together through their union.
Which would strengthen a trade union's bargaining power?
An employer cannot easily do without them.
Which is a form of industrial action?
In a strike, workers refuse to work.
A union wins a large wage rise for its members. Which is a possible disadvantage?
Higher wage costs may lead the firm to employ fewer people.
Which is a role of a trade union?
Unions press employers for safer working conditions as well as better pay.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 8 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Trade unions
Edexcel International GCSE Economics 4EC1 · 8 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
Define a trade union.[2]
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An organisation of workers that aims to protect and improve the pay and working conditions of its members.
Explain two factors that make a trade union's bargaining position stronger.[3]
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A high proportion of the workers being members, so a strike would stop production. Workers who are skilled and hard to replace, so the employer cannot easily hire others.
Explain one way a successful trade union may harm its own members.[3]
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If it wins a large pay rise, the firm's costs rise. The firm may employ fewer workers or replace them with machines, so some members lose their jobs.
Answers: Trade unions
- 1. An organisation of workers that aims to protect and improve the pay and working conditions of its members.
- 2. A high proportion of the workers being members, so a strike would stop production. Workers who are skilled and hard to replace, so the employer cannot easily hire others.
- 3. If it wins a large pay rise, the firm's costs rise. The firm may employ fewer workers or replace them with machines, so some members lose their jobs.