Trade Unions can seem daunting to Employers and to individuals. In the past 25 years I have been a small employer, a Union member and worked for a trade union too. I can't claim to have really experienced trade unions as an employer I tried to implement the fair and reasonable measures for my employees in the same way I would like to see other employers look after their people. many employers really do and they are still wary or even scared of Trade Unions.
There is really no need. What is clear is that if there is no organised work then there is no organised Labour. Some may think that a good thing, if though everyone were a free lancer then how do employers ensure the right people will be working for them at the right time or when needed? If everyone were free lance we either pay everyone the same in a Cartel system or free labour charges what it likes pushing up costs and possibly inflation, but maybe not. Trade Unions bring order in the chaos.
The ability to collectivise means one set of negotiations with a small number of people elected to speak on behalf of the workforce. There is then a sense of harmonisation of demands and an ironing out of differences. This leads to a swifter more effective negotiation and an absorption by the Union reps of the more outlandish demands. This is a self editing process by the workforce that employers don't always see, it does save the employer a lot of time and effort. Imagine negotiating pay with every single employee, or worse not doing it and seeing good people leave. That is the consequence of not increasing pay, you may lose the best people to your competitors.
If employers do work together to keep pay restrained that can seem a sensible idea, after all it keeps a lid on the problem doesn't it? Well not necessarily. What can happen is the wages are kept low and then a vacancy arises due to say a retirement or dismissal, how do you get a new staff member? Advertise right? But all the people have stayed on the same wages and then have gradually taken the jobs closest to their homes to save money and don't want to move, so no-one applies, what to do now? Well one employer has to break the freeze to attract a new staff member and the cycle of control is broken. One way or another be it through collective bargaining or market forces the edifice will crumble so it is better to do it in a controlled way working with trade unions to evenly raise wages and retain staff and the skill and knowledge they hold.
This is the power and balance that Unions can bring to the equation, so all workers should join a union and employers should embrace unions as a foil to the excesses that a restraint on employees voice and wages can bring.
