Unions and recovery

Unions can help businesses to recover from the recession, according to a TUC report.

The road to recovery says that, as well as giving staff an opportunity to raise concerns at work, unions are better at resolving conflicts. The level of employment tribunal claims in unionised workplaces, at 1.3 claims per thousand staff, is less than of half of that in non-unionised workplaces (2.9 claims per thousand staff).

And, by giving staff a voice, employees are less likely to feel demotivated by changes to working practices. The report cites research showing that staff in unionised workplaces are less likely to quit their job than in non-unionised ones.

The paper is at www.tuc.org.uk/touchstonepamphlets