Power to the people: How stronger unions can deliver economic justice

Article

Achieving better wages and working conditions as part of a new growth model will require a renaissance of collective bargaining and a growth in trade union membership.

The decline of the union movement has contributed to a growing imbalance of power in the economy, and a consequent decline in the share of national income going to labour and an increase in inequality.

The state should not be agnostic about the decline of the union movement; public policy should seek to support a renaissance in collective bargaining at sector and firm level, and to reverse the decline in union membership. Trade unions should become social partners in industrial strategy and in managing automation to build a more productive economy that works for all.

Related items

  1. Train and cars on a motorway with London skyline in background

    Planes, trains and automobiles: How green transport can drive manufacturing growth in the UK

    Transport is essential to our lives. Unfortunately, it is currently also the largest source of UK domestic carbon emissions. 

  2. Regional economies: The role of industrial strategy as a pathway to greener growth

    Regions like the North should have a key role to play in the development of a green industrial strategy.
  3. A mother and child walking in a field with hills in the distance

    Achieving the 2030 child poverty target: The distance left to travel

    On 27 March, the Scottish government will announce whether Scotland’s 2023 child poverty target – no more than 18 per cent of children in poverty – was achieved.