Trade Unions & Work Councils

• Trade unions

  • External organization that acts on behalf of its members
  • Members pay a fee, usually monthly, to contribute to the union's costs
  • Represent only paying members
  • Negotiate wages and employment terms on behalf of members
  • Create collective bargaining power by combining members
  • Benefits employees by providing more negotiating power when acting collectively
  • Creates a formal communication link between management and employees
  • More productive for employers to negotiate with one organization representing the majority of employees
• Industrial action

  1. Refusing to work overtime

  2. Working the bare minimum (go slow)

  3. Employees going on strike
• Breakdown in trust between management and trade unions


  May lead to industrial action
• Work councils

  • Internal committee of management and employees
  • Represent all employees, not just paying members
  • Deal with organizational plans, visions, training, and investments
• Worker directors

  • Employees vote in one person to represent them on the board of directors
  • Allows employees to have a vote in long-term decision making at a higher level
• Work councils are a compliment to trade unions


  Work councils and trade unions work together