Organising and bargaining

Trade unions exist because we can achieve more together than we can alone. When working people band together, they’re much more likely to get decent wages and be treated well at work.

If you’re a union member and your employer recognises your union, you have far more formal and informal ways to resolve disputes or to deal with problems at work.

But it’s also worth being a union member even if your workplace doesn’t have a recognised union. You’ll still be able to get advice from your union, and a union officer can accompany you to meetings with management. And if your co-workers are also joining a union, you might be able to start the process of getting recognised.

If you’re not already a member of a union and would like to join, you can use our Union Finder tool to see which one is the best fit for you.

This section offers basic information on collective bargaining, industrial action and union reps. But the law around union activities is complicated, so you should seek advice before taking action.