Are trade unions increasingly

becoming irrelevant in the world of

HRM ?
Hist o r ic a l l y
Origin
Industria
l Revolutio
ing n
ps w
U
De
cl ine
 Number of unions % change over Num
previous period ber
of t
1900 1323 - rad
e u ni
1910 1269 -4.1 ons
1920 1384 +9.1 in t
he
1930 1133 -18.1 UK,
19 00 -
1940 1004 -11.4
95
1950 732 -27.1
1960 Steepest 664 -9.3
Decline 1/3
1970 543 -18.2
1980 438 -19.3
1990 287 -34.5
1995 238 -17.1
 Advantages

Increase wages for its members

Legal compensation

Specific services for the sector you work in

Collective Strength
 What are the disadvantages of Trade Unions ?

Majority rules

Wage inflation

Create unemployment

Ignore non-members
 Modern unions No w ad ay s

UNISON – 1.4 million

RMT – 80 thousand

UNITE – 2 million
British Airways cabin crew
Future of the trade unions
Blyton,P. & Turnbull,P. The Dynamics of Employee
Relation, Palgrave : 1998 (p.130)

J. Bratton and J. Gold, Human Resource Management:

Theory and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 4th edition,
2007)

Verma, A. and Kochan, T.A (2004) ‘Unions in 21st century

An international perspective’, Published by Palgrave
Macmillan

Indiresan P. V., ‘Trade unions: Retaining their relevance’,

Jun 16, 2003, [Online] Available at:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2003/06/16/sto
ries/2003061600060800.htm
 Thank you !
Group Presentation :

Stefan Doykin
Dimitar Todorov
Antonio Mladenov