Okuzeka
Economics vocabulary · Jobs and Unemployment

Trade union

Meaning in economics, with examples

nounCore term

In economics, trade union means: An organisation of workers that negotiates with employers about pay, working hours and conditions on behalf of its members.

In Turkish: sendika, işçi sendikası

How it is used

British English says trade union; American English says labor union or just union. Unions negotiate through collective bargaining, sign collective agreements and may call a strike. Economists study how union membership affects wages and employment.

Example sentences

  1. The trade union is asking for a pay rise above the inflation rate.

  2. Trade union membership has fallen in most rich countries since the 1980s.

Common collocations

  • trade union membership
  • join a trade union
  • trade union leaders
  • collective bargaining
  • wageThe money a worker is paid for their work, especially when it is calculated by the hour, day or week.
  • labour marketThe market in which workers offer their time and skills and employers hire them, setting the level of employment and wages.
  • minimum wageThe lowest hourly, daily or monthly pay that employers are legally allowed to pay workers, set by the government or by law.
  • real wageA wage measured by what it can actually buy, after adjusting for inflation; if prices rise faster than pay, real wages fall.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Jobs and Unemployment

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.