Thursday, 1 November 2012

The Pros And Cons Of Trade Unions

By Tameka Ware


The birth of socialist movement brought about by the ideologies of Karl Marx has spawned many movements which answer the call of the proletariat across the globe. Not all of them are really involved with communist or socialist movement. Some are alternatives to movements by the proletariat offered by the leftist movement. What unites all of these unions is the concern for the condition of the working class. Such is the call for unions Australia.

There has been much debate as to whether these groups are effective in providing a balance for the workers and the capitalist. An agreement is made between the two groups which is called a collective bargaining. Looking at the Pros and Cons of the effects of such groups in companies will help one decide if they are indeed beneficial or not.

Empowerment of laborers is the most observable effect that one can see from these groups. Capitalists were not anymore able to subject workers to unfair conditions. Once, they were able to do whatever they wanted with their laborers, subjecting them to meager pay and hazardous working conditions without proper rest and compensations. Workers did not have any voice and were widely exploited since the equipment and capital for production did not belong to them. Now, the proletariat is deemed as an important part of production and rights are recognized.

To settle disputes and demands, a conference is being held. Here, laborers are able to express their side to the management. A settlement will then be made by meeting halfway between the demands of the employers and the employees. This collective bargaining agreement is deemed to be effective provided that the management is not that greedy to withhold what should be rightfully given.

With these movements, wages were increased. A minimum salary was then set that is reasonable enough for the worker. Benefits, specially health related ones were addressed. During the early years, there were many laborers who get sick and meet accidents during their work, and compensation was minimal if not unrecognized.

However good the positive effects are, there were also some downsides that can observed. Productivity has seen both from this. Answered requests lead to contented laborers which in return can lead to higher productivity. However, things can go the opposite way when demands are not met. Production will significantly decrease.

The dark sides of these unions can be seen during strikes. These happen when certain demands are not met. Strikes are one of the most effective tools used by labor groups to force owners to give in to their demands. These claims may be reasonable but the company, which is their source of livelihood, suffers when all productions are halted. This may boomerang back to the employee causing loss of jobs.

Higher wages, no matter how welcome it is, have an ugly face to it as well. The wage curve is affected. This is when some workers would have to loose their job so that the company will still be able to have gains and pay higher wages to laborers at the same time.

The struggle still continues for the oppressed workers. It is through organizations like unions Australia that they are given their voice. Different people may have different opinions regarding their cause but it is definitely sure enough that without these groups, workers would not have their voice heard.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment