The decline of trade union membership and density in advanced industrial nations is the result of changing political, economic, social, technological and legal factors which have caused trade unions to adapt the way they operate to represent a changing working class. The membership numbers of a trade union are not definitive of its strength, as density within the work place is what gives a union its power when negotiating. Within this essay evidence will be taken from Britain's industrial history as to why trade union membership has decreased and whether the working class is decreasing or reshaping.
The definition of working class is important when considering the density of trade unions and their membership. The definition of working class is often given as those who work in manual labour. The definition that will be used within this essay however, is that the working class are those who have to sell their labour to live and not just those who work with their hands, receive low pay or believe they are working class.
A rally of the trade union UNISON in Oxford during...
English: Flower Deutsch: Blume Italiano: Fiore
Trade Union official Mick O'Reilly on stage at May...This definition incorporates the changing role of the working class as employment moves away from the manufacturing industry and towards the service industry. The first part of this question asks whether the decline of union membership and density is a result of a disaggregating and dissolving working class. This part of the question refers to the decline in numbers of people and the splits of the working class employed. The second part of the question deals with the time lag in the reshaping of the working class against a background of job insecurity and structural change. This part is dealing with the redevelopment of the working class as it undergoes structural change in the move away from the manufacturing industry and towards the service industry. Also after periods...