please see the attached file.

1. How would trade unions argue against the criticism that businesses they operate within aren't flexible enough?

Trade unions (labor unions) are not concerned about flexibility; they are concerned about meeting their objectives. Flexibility is more about improving and meeting the needs of the employers, not the employees. thus, trade unions might argue that flexibility translates into longer and less predictable hours for the employee, and works against their main objectives.

"A Trade Union (Labour union) ... is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment." (Webb, Sidney, Webb, Beatrice (1920). History of Trade Unionism. Longmans, Green and Co. London. ch. I).

Over the last three hundred years, trade unions have developed into a number of forms, influenced by differing political and economic regimes. The immediate objectives and activities of trade unions vary, but may include:

? Provision of benefits to members: Early trade unions, like Friendly Societies, often provided a range of benefits to insure members against unemployment, ill health, old age and funeral expenses. In many developed countries, these functions have been assumed by the state; however, the provision of professional training, legal advice, and representation for members is still an important benefit of trade union membership.

? Collective bargaining: Where trade unions are able to operate openly and are recognised by employers, they may negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions.

? Industrial action: Trade unions may organize strikes or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals.

? Political activity: Trade unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of their members or workers as a whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties (such as the Labour Party in the United Kingdom) for public office. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union#_note-webb
Labor unions in the United States today function as legally recognized representatives of workers in numerous industries, but in recent years have seen their greatest growth among service sector and public sector workers. Activity by labor unions in the United States today centers on collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions for their membership and on representing their members if management attempts to violate contract provisions. Although down from the peak membership they achieved in the third quarter of the twentieth century, American unions also remain an important political factor, both through mobilization of their own memberships and through coalitions with like-minded activist organizations around issues such as immigrant rights, trade policy, health care, and living wage campaigns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_unions_in_the_United_States

2. What are the benefits of being in a trade union rather than on an individual contract?

Individual contracts are agreements between an employer and an individual employee. Unions are against these contracts because they often give workers a bad deal. For example, when workers negotiate alone, they never have as much power as the boss. This means employers can make your work more flexible, meaning longer and less predictable hours. http://www.lhmu.org.au/lhmu/rights/contracts.html

In contrast, the trade union argues that it works for the wage-earners, and benefits them in several ways: to protect her or him from being mistreated by the employer in terms of wages, work hours, benefits and working conditions; and on representing their members if management attempts to violate contract provisions. The labor union clearly has more collective power than an individual employee does when they enter into an individual contract. As mentioned above, other benefits are:

? Collective bargaining: Where trade unions are able to operate openly and are recognised by employers, they may negotiate with employers over wages and working conditions.
? Industrial action: Trade unions may organise strikes or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals.
? Political activity: Trade unions may promote legislation favourable to the interests of their members or workers as a whole. To this end they may pursue campaigns, undertake lobbying, or financially support individual candidates or parties (such as the Labour Party in the United Kingdom) for public office. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union#_note-webb

But not everyone agrees, though, as some people argue against trade unions (labor unions).

3. How has privatization of industries affected trade unions?

Privatization has worked against trade unions, but the trade unions have not given up the battle. However, it has clearly taken some of the power from the trade union movement.

For example, in India, all the trade unions, including those of the ruling party, have condemned privatization. Several other unions, affiliated to the BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), like the Hind Mazdoor Kisan Panchayat (HMKP), which is close to George Fernandes, have condemned the privatisation drive. It is also not as if we are losing ground in every area. In certain areas, like the banking industry, where the government has been planning privatization for a number of years, we have managed to hold back the threat. This is because all the nine federations of unions in the industry came together to resist privatisation. All the five federations of the port and dockworkers have also joined to resist such moves. So, wherever the movement is strong and wherever workers are in a position to assert their strength, there is resistance. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2001/stories/20030117007300800.htm This is similar in other countries as well.

For example, in South Africa, privatisation poses one of the greatest threats to South African trade unions. Public sector unions organizing workers at all levels and in all spheres of government are being confronted by an onslaught of initiatives to sell government assets, bring in private sector partners, issue management contracts to private companies to run government agencies, and contract private companies to perform services previously provided by public sector workers. Hardly any women drive garbage trucks or load the bins. Waste management is traditionally a male-dominated sector. But nowadays, lots of women are employed as street cleaners. As Melanie Samson explains: "Litter picking and sweeping are seen to be related to women's domestic work." A recent research project has revealed that a mix of these gender stereotypes and privatisation has aggravated the situation of women employees (see full article available on-line at http://www.queensu.ca/msp/pages/Project_Publications/Journals/Samson.htm).

In contrast to labor unions, privatization fosters the actualization of labor, with more and more workers being hired on limited fixed-term contracts of employment. It removes workers from the bargaining units established over many years in the public sector, generally leading to a reduction in incomes, benefits and job security. In addition, and against labor union principles, other implications of privatization are:

? The state's privatisation programme is and will continue to detrimentally affect the socio-economic interests of the poor, which includes workers and the working class in general, for the following reasons:

1. It will lead to decreased and inferior quality services for the poor, since they cannot afford to pay for the services provided by or through private interests.
2. It will lead to higher prices for the provision of basic services, which will adversely affect the poor.
3. It will limit the extension of basic social and municipal services to the poor.
4. Generally, it will limit cross-subsidisation to benefit the poor and poor regions.
5. It will adversely affect the state's capacity to:

1). Provide basic services to the poor;

2). Provide for infrastructure development;

3). Intervene to restructure the economy to ensure growth and employment creation; and

4). Play a developmental role in general.

6). It will lead to significant job losses and will not provide for job creation.

7). It will foster the actualization of labor, with more and more workers being hired on limited fixed-term contracts of employment.

8). It removes workers from the bargaining units established over many years in the public sector, generally leading to a reduction in incomes, benefits and job security.

9). Regulatory agencies have proven unable to establish specific and effective obligations to serve the poor by extending services at affordable prices. They have few or no sanctions to impose on companies that fail to comply with obligations, ambiguous targets for the extension of affordable services if any exist at all, and at best ineffective mechanisms to monitor compliance. http://www.cosatu.org.za/campaigns/s77-priv.htm