Workers in any organization need to be managed and protected from any form of exploitations. Most firms set up the human resource department as a watchdog for the staff activities, and it is involved in recruiting new members, managing their welfare, and ensuring their rights are respected. At some point, the workers may feel dissatisfied and opt to join hands and create unions. Unions act as guards for the welfare of the employees by ensuring they air out their voices and engage in negotiations in areas where the staffs are oppressed (Ramaswamy & Schiphorst, 2000). Organizations have the human resource department (HR), but it is necessary for the workers to join the unions since the HR may fail to cater for all their needs because it is controlled by the management of the company.
When workers have any challenges at the workplace, they share with the human resources management team. If there are no amendments made on the issue, the next move is to report the case to their unions, who may choose to consult the government for an answer to the arising case. When a new worker is recruited into a company, the laws, regulations, ethics, and privileges they are entitled to are set. While in the line of duty, and an employee feels his or her rights are violated, they report to the HR, and the case is judged according to the signed work laws and rights. In the event of the personnel having their rights violated, the company compensates them and normal operations resume. In addition, if the worker is in the wrong, the appropriate punishment is administered such as losing the job, financial reductions, and suspensions. Unions address the national or global issues of the staffs. An example is a case of doctors of a country being oppressed at their place of work by receiving little compensations. The doctors have a union, which they report their issues, and then their committee may book an appointment with the government to discuss the terms. When the government is not ready to listen to the concerns of the workers, the union has the right to call for a strike as a way of forcing the government to act swiftly in resolving the issue. The government has set up regulations that govern how the safety of the employees is addressed. Some of the rules include protection from exploitation of the staffs and in the case of any evidence, the associated company is compelled to compensate the worker and ensure the conditions are favorable. The main values of unions, government, and human resource department are to ensure the welfare of the workers is well set and respected, and the working environment is safe and conducive.
Roles of Human Resource and Unions
The roles of the human resource department and unions may differ when it comes to different industries. Human resource originates from the company side while unions are wholly based on the issues of the workers. HR addresses the issues that directly affect the staffs and must only be from the direct interactions of the firm (Machin & Wood, 2005). HR is answerable to the management to ensure their employees remain productive. The laws that help in the running of the human resource department are internally set with minimal alterations to fit in the government requirements. The primary concern of the unions is wholly the welfare of the workers. The laws established by unions may not be conducive with those of the HR because their primary objective is to push the company for better terms of the employees. The unions are only answerable to the workers and not the company that employees their clients. An example is when the safety of an employee is violated, and it may take a long time to be resolved since the company will try to save its image. If the case is reported to the unions, immediate action will be taken since there is no public image to protect, and by doing this it acts as an example to other companies that are treating their workers badly (Sharma & Sharma, 2014). The only places where the roles of the unions and the human resource overlap are that their ultimate goal is to ensure the rights of the workers are fully protected.
Protection and Support of Workers in America
Workers in the modern workplaces in the United States of America are not entirely protected and supported. At some point, it may appear as if the rights of the employees are respected because the government has set them and issued threats to companies that do not follow and ensure the staffs are comfortable at work. The employees who receive the full support are the ones in high ranking governmental offices since they are in the limelight. Most of the people in America work for small companies and private ones. In the private and small businesses, the rights of the employees may be violated, and some may fear to report the issues since it may result in them losing their jobs. Before the problems from the medium companies can reach the government it may take a long time, and this makes the workers remain oppressed, and their rights are not respected.
As a conclusion, it is necessary for the rights of the employees to be respected. The HR, unions and the government must work as a unit towards the welfare of the workers. If one of the units fails to perform well, such as the government, the unions may call for actions like strikes to remind them of their duties.
References
Machin, S. & Wood, S. (2005). Human Resource Management as a Substitute for Trade Unions in British Workplaces. ILR Review, 58(2), 201-218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/001979390505800202
Ramaswamy, E. & Schiphorst, F. (2000). Human resource management, trade unions and empowerment: two cases from India. The International Journal Of Human Resource Management, 11(4), 664-680. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585190050075051
Sharma, S. & Sharma, B. (2014). Human Resource Management and Trade Unions (HRMTU). International Journal Of Trade, Economics And Finance, 88-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.7763/ijtef.2014.v5.346
