Trade unions can bridge the gap between governments and the market to increase both the production and welfare of workers

摘要

Calculating the costs and benefits of trade unions has always been a controversial subject.udAndreas Hauptmann argues that neither economically liberal regimes, nor strict governmentudcontrols can provide for optimal levels of occupational health and safety standards. Rather,udtrade unions can help fill this gap by identifying issues in the workplace more quickly and byudthis they increase production and welfare. Membership of unions experienced a large rise inudthe early 20th century, but this has since fallen in most countries. One explanation is theudpromotion of better health and safety legislation. In this sense unions have been a victim ofudtheir own success as their importance has declined with better workplace standards.