National trade union movements

1. National trade union movements are fundamental elements of any developed industrial relations and labour law system. Yet, as Clegg 1 points out, ‘there exists no systematic theory of trade unionism and even less of national labour movements’. This section will focus on national trade unions. Reference will be made to broader aspects of the labour movement when they are indispensable for an understanding of unionism. For analytical purposes the models will be presented and interpreted as follows: (1) union membership (or density), structure and internal organization; (2) union presence or influence at the workshop level; (3) forms of union action; (4) political action and relations with political parties; and (5) trade unions and state intervention in industrial relations. Each aspect will be considered in terms of the situation of the last decades along with basic historical references as needed. 2 Finally, an attempt will be made to give an overall appraisal and interpretation of the models and trends.