A trade union or labor union, often simply referred to as a union, is an organisation of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages and benefits, improving working conditions, improving safety standards, establishing complaint procedures, developing rules governing status of employees and protecting and increasing the bargaining power of workers.
The economy of Taiwan is a highly developed free-market economy. It is the 8th largest in Asia and 20th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity, allowing Taiwan to be included in the advanced economies group by the International Monetary Fund. Taiwan is notable for its rapid economic development from an agriculture-based society to an industrialised, high-income country. This economic growth has been described as the Taiwan Miracle. It is gauged in the high-income economies group by the World Bank. Taiwan is one of the most technologically advanced computer microchip and high-tech electronics industries makers in the world.
The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of Trade Unions as a single structure for trade unions world-wide, following the World Trade Union Conference in London, United Kingdom.
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have almost 1,000,000 members of a Norwegian population of 5 million. The majority of affiliated unions organizes traditional blue collar workers, but the largest affiliate is the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees which makes up more than a third of all members. LO is affiliated to the ITUC and the ETUC.
Kaohsiung Metro is a rapid transit and light rail system covering the metropolitan area of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Its rapid transit network is known as Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit or Kaohsiung MRT. Construction of the MRT started in October 2001. The MRT opened in 2008 and the Circular light rail in 2015. Kaohsiung Metro is operated by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation under a BOT contract the company signed with the Kaohsiung City Government.
Labour unions emerged in Japan in the second half of the Meiji period, after 1890, as the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization. Until 1945, however, the labour movement remained weak, impeded by a lack of legal rights, anti-union legislation, management-organized factory councils, and political divisions between “cooperative” and radical unionists.
The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center and people's organization of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary trade union organizations. The ACFTU is divided into 31 regional federations and 10 national industrial unions. The ACFTU is the country's sole legally mandated trade union, with which all enterprise-level trade unions must be affiliated. There has been dispute over whether ACFTU is an independent trade union or even a trade union at all. It directs a public college, the China University of Labor Relations.
The Italian Labour Union is a national trade union centre in Italy. It was founded in 1950 as a socialist, social democratic, republican, and laic split from the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL). It represents almost 2.2 million workers.
A company or "yellow" union is a worker organization which is dominated or unduly influenced by an employer and is therefore not an independent trade union. Company unions are contrary to international labour law. They were outlawed in the United States by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act §8(a)(2), due to their use as agents for interference with independent unions. However, company unions persist in many countries.
The Chinese Federation of Labor (CFL) is a national trade union center in the Republic of China. It was founded in 1948 in mainland China, and until the government recognition of the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions in 2000, was the sole official labor confederation in the RoC.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Taiwan:
Fr. Francis Lipwoni Atwoli, NOM (DZA) CBS, EBS, MBS is a Kenyan trade unionist who is currently serving as the Secretary General of the Central Organization of Trade Unions (Kenya), COTU (K). He has served in that capacity since he was first elected in August 2001. He equally serves as the General Secretary of the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers' Union KPAWU since 1994. Internationally, Atwoli serves workers as a titular member of the International Labor Organization Governing Body, President of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) & Vice President of the International Trade Union Confederation.
As the economy of China has rapidly developed, issues of labor relations have evolved. Prior to this reform, Chinese citizens were only allowed to work where they originated from. Since 1978, when China began labor force reforms, the overwhelming majority of the labor force were either working at State owned enterprises or as farm workers in the rural countryside. However, over time China began to reform and by the late 90's many had moved from the countryside into the cities in hopes of higher paying jobs and more opportunities. The only connection between the countryside and the city soon became that there was a huge floating population connecting them. Independent unions are illegal in China with only the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACTFU) permitted to operate. China has been the largest exporter of goods in the world since 2009. Not only that, in 2013 China became the largest trading nation in the world. As China moved away from their planned economy and more towards a market economy the government has brought on many reforms. The aim of this shift in economies was to match the international standards set by the World Trade Organization and other economic entities. The ACTFU that was established to protect the interests of national and local trade unions failed to represent the workers, but instead failed to do so leading to the 2010 crackdowns. However, these strikes were centered around foreign companies.
The Kaohsiung Museum of Labor is a museum about labor in Cianjin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The labor movement in Taiwan did not start until the 1980s, after the end of martial law in Taiwan. Many of these labor movements began when Kuomintang became more lenient with social movements. In addition, with the help of non-KMT political figures, such as members of the Democratic Progressive Party, many labor unions and State-owned enterprise administrations removed KMT's influence, and this reshaped a huge economic sector of Taiwan from being strictly controlled by the state.
Trade unions in Pakistan are regulated under provincial industrial relations acts. Under the Constitution of Pakistan, labour is considered a shared responsibility of the federal and provincial governments. The latest Industrial Relation Act was promulgated on 12 March 2012 by President of Pakistan. National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) was established under Labour Policy, 1972 as a quasi-judicial authority to promote genuine trade unionism, setting up industry-wise federations of unions and at the national levels. According to NIRC, in 2016 there were 1,390 trade unions with registered 1.4 million members. There are 16 registered federations and the ratio of total union members to total employment is 2.2%.
Trade unions have historically been unrecognized by IBM. Since the company's foundation in 1911, it has not recognized any in the United States, despite efforts by workers to establish them from 1970 onward. In Australia, Germany and Italy, several trade unions have limited recognition from IBM. IBM has been able to minimize membership even in traditional union strongholds in Western Europe.
The Japanese Federation of Labour was a national trade union federation in Japan.
The National Council of Government and Public Workers' Unions was a national trade union federation representing public sector workers in Japan.
