Employment Relations: Collective Representation and Trade Unions Notes on Trade Unions

Definitions: * Sydney & Beatrice Webb (1920): A continuous association of wage earners aiming to maintain or improve employment conditions. * Salamon (1998): Associations representing worker interests in both the workplace and society.
Primary Goals: * Achieve satisfactory pay and working conditions. * Replace individual bargaining with collective bargaining to balance power dynamics. * Represent worker interests within the political system.

Early Origins: Early combinations included the Journeymen Felt Makers (1696) in the UK and the Regular Carpenters of Dublin (1764) in Ireland.
Legal Hostility: Under Common Law, unions were viewed as being "In Restraint of Trade," interfering with an employer's freedom.
Suppression Acts: The Combination Acts 1799/1800 led to imprisonment for members (3 months in the UK; 6 months in Ireland). These were repealed in 1824/1825.
Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834): Six laborers were transported to Australia for 7 years for taking "illegal and seditious oaths" while joining the Grand National and Consolidated Trade Union.
Model Unions (1850s): Represented by the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (1851), these unions confined membership to skilled trades, offered "friendly society benefits," and founded the TUC (1868) and Irish Trade Union Congress (ITUC) (1894).

Trade Union Act 1871: Legalized the existence of unions but did not protect their industrial activities; criminal conspiracy laws still applied.
Conspiracy & Protection of Property Act 1875: Established the Golden Formula, providing immunity for acts done "in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute." It legalized peaceful picketing.
Taff Vale Case (1901): Taff Vale Railway Company v Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants resulted in the court ruling that unions could be sued for civil wrongs (torts).
Trade Dispute Act 1906: Provided "blanket immunity" against civil conspiracy and protection for inducing breaches of contract, facilitating union growth.
Trade Union Act 1941: Attempted to grant Sole Negotiating Rights (SNRs) to specific unions to reduce fragmentation, but was partially struck down by the Supreme Court in NUR v Sullivan (1947).

Licensing: Only "authorised" trade unions with negotiating licenses can engage in collective bargaining on pay and conditions.
Excepted Bodies: Includes groups like the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and Irish Dental Association, which must prove independence from management under the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2015.
Union Density: Refers to the percentage of employees or the total workforce that are union members. Rates fluctuated due to cyclical, structural, and institutional factors.
Union Types: * Craft Unions: Restricted to specific skills (e.g., electricians). * General Unions: Open to all categories (e.g., SIPTU—the largest Irish union). * White Collar Unions: For professional or managerial staff (e.g., FSU, INTO).

Recognition: Management formally accepting a union for collective bargaining. There is no constitutional right to recognition in Ireland; it remains a management prerogative.
Closed Shops: * Pre-entry: Joining the union before employment is offered. * Post-entry: Joining within a period after starting work. Post-entry closed shops are unconstitutional under Article 40.6.1 regarding the right of association.

Poll Question: "Why did the employer fail in a dismissal case?" * Response: The majority (93) identified that the employer failed to consider if a lesser sanction, such as a warning, would have been appropriate.
News and Contemporary Issues: * ICTU reports that over half of Irish workers feel current pay is unfair. * Owen Reidy (Ictu general secretary) highlighted that many workers do not feel their voice is valued. * US trends (2025): Record numbers of unionized workers reached $16.5 \times 10^6$ , representing $11.2\%$ of wage and salary workers.