The Shop Steward
Match the trade union action with
its correct meaning. Discuss with
your partner and answer in your
jotter 
a.
Action
1. Official Strike
2. Secret Ballot
3. Work to Rule
4. Overtime Ban
5. Go Slow
6. Unofficial Strike
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Meaning
Must be done before any
actions take place
Workers stick to their
contract and follow every
rule to the letter
Workers slow down their
rate of work but not
enough to get into trouble
Workers refuse to do any
extra work
Takes place without the
backing of a union
Backed by the union, the
most serious form of
action
To understand the role
of the shop steward
By the end of today you
will be able to
Describe the structure of a trade union
Describe the role of a shop steward
Identify the personal qualities a good
shop steward should have
Person
General Secretary
National Executive
Committee
District & Regional
Committee
Shop Steward
Ordinary Members
(Grass Roots)
Role
Head of the union & decision maker
Represents union in the media
Full Time paid officials
Carries out union policies
Represents members at local level &
at annual trade union conference
Represents union members
Attends district & regional meetings
Elects shop steward and members
of district, regional & national
committee
Problems in a workplace
• Write a list of problems that people
may have in the workplace.
• no wage increase this year
• health and safety concerns
• canteen price rises
• concerns over paying for the crèche
The shop steward has 4 main roles
• Represents members of the union
• Recruits new members to the union
• Communicates between union
headquarters and members
• Inform members of any changes or
decisions
Represent
Recruit
Communicate
Inform
•arrange a meeting/negotiating with
the management to resolve the
problem
• contact full-time union officials to
ask for their help and advice
• organise a ballot of members about
industrial action
• organise appropriate industrial action
such as work-to-rule, overtime ban or
strike action if negotiations are not
successful
You will now be able to…
 Describe the structure of a trade
union
 Describe the role of a shop steward
 Identify the personal qualities a
good shop steward should have