Notably, groups of workers that seek to uphold and improve working conditions within their own firms make up trade unions. Trade unions are thus membership-based organizations, and its members typically come from a certain industry, country, or organization. Trade union members have similar goals and passions. In order to ensure that members have a positive working environment, the trade union’s primary objective is to protect and advance their interests. The Trade Union Act of 2016 states that autonomous unions are well respected and that employers acknowledge their assistance in collective bargaining (Ewing and Hendy 2017). When there is majority support, the unions are also granted the ability to be recognized for collective bargaining. In order to obtain statutory recognition, unions must follow the rules and processes of the Central Arbitration Committee.

In the UK, there are various forms of trade union recognition. The largest unions, nevertheless, are those with voluntary and legislative status. Thus, “voluntary union recognition” refers to a circumstance in which an employer can join a trade union without having to be associated with CAC (De Stefano and Aloisi 2019). However, statutory recognition requires the union to submit an application to the CAC in order to be recognized. A trade union may also file an application with the industrial court to have the employers acknowledge their legal obligations and rights to implement collective bargaining in accordance with the bargaining unit of the specific group of persons. In the employment sector, collective bargaining is the process of negotiating terms and conditions of employment that respect the interests of both employers and employees between management and workers who are represented by their leaders.

Therefore, it is crucial to engage in collective bargaining since it fosters understanding within an organization. On the same negotiation table, a good platform is made that can accommodate both employers and employees (Ewing and Hendy 2017). Employees are more informed about the organization’s goals and constraints as a result, which helped to establish productive working relationships. The fact that all parties are thoroughly consulted and involved in the decision-making processes enhances organizational democracy as well. Additionally, collective bargaining is crucial for business relationships since it enhances and solidifies the bond between management and employees, helping the accomplishment of business objectives.

Notably, the trade unions operate with a similar purpose, concentrating on establishing and sustaining positive relationships within the business. As a result, organizational viability is attained as the participants promote the expansion of the business and the entire neighborhood. As a result, trade unions are able to express the complaints of their members over poor working conditions, discrimination, and low pay. Additionally, they provide members with advice on how to successfully meet the demands of the employer. Employees are offered beneficial training sessions to aid them advance their knowledge and abilities in the job, insurance services to safeguard them, and legal counsel to comprehend and follow the contract’s rules and regulations. Every organization’s employee relations depend on statutory trade union recognition. Employers can have meetings with union representatives without having to involve every employee, which could be time-consuming and inconvenient. Second, since the unrepresentative viewpoints are eliminated, negotiations are simple. The strategy saves money since it makes for fruitful discussions. Additionally, union recognition takes employee involvement into account. In order for an employment relationship to flourish, the union urges employees to form intimate ties with businesses and employers.

Despite not having a certificate of independence from the appropriate certifying officer, non-independent unions do exist and represent workers within the firm. Once the representative submits their application to CAC for review and approval, the non-independent union is formally recognized by law. The main reason for derecognizing a non-independent union is when the majority of the bargaining unit’s employees reject the recognition agreements (Ewing and Hendy 2017). As a result, members of the bargaining unit apply to industrial court for union recognition. However, if the certification officer rejects the union and roughly 10% of the workforce favors de-recognition, the court will accept the application.