In modern society, many concepts are replaced by words of foreign origin. The development of capitalism has led to the formation of special organizations. What are trade unions?
In history, trade unions of workers are hidden behind this concept.
The meaning of the concept
Translated from English, “trade unions” are “profession” and “union”. In other words, these are trade unions of people who are interconnected by occupation.
With the birth of capitalist society, new layers of the population arose: entrepreneurs, wage earners.
Gradually, they became the foundation of society. The relationship between them was not without conflict. So, entrepreneurs, taking care of their own benefit, tightened requirements for wage workers. They increased the length of the working day, reduced wage rates, introduced fines, and saved on labor protection.
To protect their interests, workers refused to do the work. Their demands were met if there were a lot of protesters.
England is the birthplace of movement
At the time of the creation of trade unions, Britain was the most industrialized. The trade unions are the brainchild of the island kingdom.
The first organizations included highly skilled workers who were involved in advanced industries. The fact is that it was difficult to replace such workers, unlike ordinary laborers. One of the first is the Lancashire Spinners Union, which appeared in 1792.
Entrepreneurs negatively related to such unions. The state also showed intolerance towards them. There were even laws that provided for criminal penalties for participating in trade unions. Such actions by the authorities provoked workers to unite in order to fight for their rights. As a result, the state had to recognize these organizations. Which was done in 1824.
Spread around the world
Trade unions are organizations that in the nineteenth century spread throughout England. Their representatives began to establish a relationship with each other in order to exchange experiences and conduct joint actions.
In 1834, under the leadership of Robert Owen, an attempt was made to create a universal union. The organization could not survive for a long time, but a start was made. In 1868, the Congress of Trade Unions was created. This is the main coordinating body of the trade union movement in modern Britain.
What about women?
Initially, unions concerned only men. Women were not expected in the trade unions. This was in the hands of entrepreneurs who began to hire women to work. This was also facilitated by scientific and technological progress, which greatly simplified the work of the worker. The fairer sex was less organized and agreed to work for less.
Over time, women's union organizations began to form . So the Women's Union League came into being. By the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a merger of female trade unions with male ones. According to statistics, women are fewer in unions than men.
New Trade Unions
The definition of trade unions changed at the end of the nineteenth century. Now they combined workers of various professions in one industry. This allowed unskilled workers to join the organization. The Union of Dockers, the Union of Workers of the Gas Industry can be attributed to the first trade unions that did this.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a significant part of the country's workers was in the trade unions of Britain. Organizations began to influence not only the economy, but also participate in political life.
Spread around the world
The unions of England became a model of the labor movement. Organizations of other countries focused on representatives of the foggy island. The first nationwide workers union in the United States was formed in 1869. It was called the Knights of Labor. Then the organization fell into decay, in 1881 it was replaced by the American Federation of Labor.
The struggle between entrepreneurs and trade unions in the USA has been going on for a very long time. All allowed the National Law on Labor Relations, adopted in 1935.
In many European countries, trade unions were revolutionary in nature, so their legalization dragged on. For example, in Germany, the Social Democratic forces dealt with the question of the unification of workers, and in France, the anarcho-syndicalists.
The organizations of Japan are different from all trade unions. They unite workers who belong to the same company. Industry trade unions did not become popular in this country.
On what conditions were created trade unions? Their main task was to represent and protect the interests of workers in labor relations.
Crisis of motion
By the end of the twentieth century, unions began to experience a crisis in their development. In many developed countries, workers quit organizations. Although in countries such as South Korea, Brazil and others, a developed system of trade unions remains. This is due to the fact that organizations began to form there only in the second half of the last century.