Union Membership in Australia

[Writer's Name]

[Name of the Institute]

Union Membership in Australia

Introduction

Trade Unions are organizations that represent people at work, and they speak on behalf of the people working in organizations. Trade unions are formed either on temporary basis or on permanent basis, in order to regulate the relations between employees and employers. They protect and promote the interests of workers and defend and improve their working conditions. The Trade Unions require money, staff, and accommodation, at local, regional and national levels. Trade Unions were given a lot of importance in the past, and employees wanted to be a part of it. Today, things have changed and the concept and ideas of employees and employers have also changed. The change in the world has changed organizations, as well as the importance and value of trade unions.

Operating and running trade union requires management and business skills, so that they can make effective decisions and play their roles in a good manner. In advanced economies like Australia unionization has declined in the recent years. This decline is the result of several factors that affected unionization and union membership. Today, the organizations and the relation between employees and employers are different as compared to the past. These differences and changes in the organization and its environment is the result of decline in union membership (Waddington, 2005).

There are several reasons behind the decline of trade union in Australia and other advanced economies. Globalization, internationalization and internal forces have changed the concept of individuals, which is the reason why they don't want to become a member of trade unions. This change is an impact of several factors, and has affected the trade unions. The workforce has also changed as compared to the past, as people are getting more advanced, and they are thinking differently.

Body

In the year 1921, almost half of the Australian Labor Force was unionized, and over the past two decades it has been realized that union membership is declining in Australia. Since 1992, union membership has declined greatly due to many factors and forces. In the past, trade union membership was given a lot of importance, and the countries worldwide had accepted the policies of trade union and had become a part of it. The factors include legislative changes, decentralization, introduction to HRM practices, downsizing of public service, and globalization (Pocock, 2000).

The Trade Union had played important role in these many years by promoting the interests of workers, and helping in making the relation between the employers and employees. They helped organizations in making policies related to labor force, so that they can work accordingly. The health and benefits of workers was promoted, and they benefits were also promoted by Trade Unions (Sharpe, 2012).

There are local and global factors which are considered as the reason behind the decline of union membership in Australia and in other advanced economies. The impact of global and local factors has declined the union membership in Australia, and soon the concept of unionization will end, as expected by economists. ...