UK, TUC, Report says trade unions ensure safer, more productive workplaces 30.01.2012
The presence of unions in workplaces could be saving employers in the private and public sectors as much £701m a year or £2m a day, as well as making them safer, according to a new report from the TUC in the UK.
The report, Facility Time for Union Reps: Separating fact from fiction, says that firms with union reps negotiating with employers on behalf of their colleagues, are more productive, better trained and safer workplaces with fewer cases taken to Employment Tribunal – meaning staff tend to stay in posts longer.
Written by Gregor Gall, Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Hertfordshire, the report argues the value of union reps to the UK economy, not only helping improve workplace conditions but also enabling private and public sector employers to keep costs down, and so deliver huge savings to the taxpayer.
