Labour Market - What roles for trade unions during the cost of living crisis?

This labour market article from Larry Elliott taps into the current macroeconomic environment to reflect upon the place of trades unions.

To many of my age, or older, the unions are still seen as the 'enemies of progress' as a result of the protracted industrial action of the 1970s and early 1980s.

"Four million of the 6.6m trade union members work in the public sector, while those in the lowest-paid, highly casualised sectors, who would benefit most from the support of a trade union, are least likely to be members of one.”

However, today, the reason that there's little chance of a wage-price spiral in response to the current inflation is because of a decline in union power and an end to collective bargaining. And Larry Elliott thinks that, in many respects. that's a shame.

His reasoning is that power has gone too far in the other direction - return to labour remain small, relative to capital, with shareholders gaining at the expense of workers, and the notion that efficiency gains would manifest themselves as increased funds for investment is patently untrue.

Factor in the limited worker protections offered by modern working conditions - the gig economy and zero hours contracts - and you could make a case for increased workers' rights and a need for the return of the unions.

In this video we look at recent trends in UK trade union membership, consider how trade unions can affect both pay and employment and challenge the textbook view that union-negotiated pay increases inevitably have negative consequences for employment.