Before going any further, it is important to define the concept of trade union. It is commonly defined as an “organization whose membership consists of workers and union leaders, and whose principal purposes are to negotiate wages and working condition terms, regulate relations between workers (its members) and the employer, take collective action to enforce the terms of collective bargaining, raise new demands on behalf of its members, and help settle their grievances.
In Europe, the numbers of employees who belong to trade unions vary widely. At the top of the table of union density are ranked Finland, Sweden and Denmark with 71%, 71% and 68% of all employees in unions, respectively. Some of the causes of this high density in the Nordic countries are that unemployment and social benefits are a responsibility within the unions and union membership is usually seen as a natural part of employment.
The average level of union membership in the European Union (24%) is held down by the low union density in most of the larger States such as France (8%), Germany (20%), Spain (16%) and Poland (16%). Despite that fact, In Spain labor unions have been supported by a large number of votes in the council elections and in France they have the capacity to mobilize workers in mass with an effective effect. By the other hand, three of the smallest countries of EU, Malta, Cyprus and Luxembourg have high levels above the average. Generally, states in Central and Eastern Europe have low levels of union membership because of the hostile climate, except for Rumania and Slovenia.
There is an important divergence in terms of the proportion of men and women within trade unions. For example, in Spain, according to a government survey, men (with a union density of 21.7% ) were more likely than women (at 16.7%) to be in unions. In Sweden, by the other hand, Union density was higher among women (81%) than among men (75%).
Although the levels of union membership across Europe are very different, trade unions are moving in very similar directions. Only eight countries of the EU (plus Norway) have gained union members. Those are: Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway and Spain. In the rest of the continent, the overall union membership has decreased over the last two decades. This widespread decline has been more dramatic in central and eastern Europe since the fall of Berlin wall in 1989 and the finalization of the cold war. In both eastern and western Europe there is a higher union density in the public than in the private sector.
Trade Unions in Colombia
In Colombia there are a lot of trade unions but the strongest ones are those related to the public sector (like in Europe). Trade unions in Colombia play a similar role as in Europe since they look for the implementation and preservation of good working conditions. Although the Colombian constitution protects the right of association, there has been a hostile environment for trade unions like in some countries in central and Eastern Europe.
According to Amnesty international, over the last two decades nearly 2000 trade unionists have been assassinate and 138 have disappeared. More than 90% of those cases have remained in impunity. The authors of those crimes are mainly members of paramilitary groups.
References:
* http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/trade-union.html
* http://www.worker-participation.eu/National-Industrial-Relations/Across-Europe/Trade-Unions2
* http://www.amnesty.org/es/stay-informed/publications/books/sindicalismo-en-colombia
Daniel.
ResponderEliminaris very interesting the fact that you didn't analyze the trade union situation as a whole, becuase you look at situations of different countires and explain them. Also i like that you highlight the fact that in Colombia the trade unions are have a hostile environment... maybe that's a important cuase of the small membership Colombia has in terms of trade unions!