Trade unions are often overlooked within mainstream development practice, but they have a unique and important role to play in development and poverty alleviation.  With rising inequality, both within and between countries, the power of trade unions to empower low paid working people to get their fair share of global wealth is more relevant than ever.

Individual workers, especially in the vast informal economy of ‘developing’ countries, generally do not have the opportunity to bargain with employers for decent pay and conditions.  By joining in a union, workers can bargain collectively to gain pay increases, better conditions and safer workplaces. 

As well as addressing the power inequalities that underlie poverty wages, unions can fulfil other aspects of ‘good development’ – participation and sustainability.  Importantly, unions have democratic structures which allow members to feed in their ideas and have their say about bargaining demands and decisions.  This can be a highly participatory process that allows the members to truly ‘own’ the union and the development process. 

Once established, unions can collect membership fees, providing a self-sufficient source of income that they can use to continue to deliver livelihood improvements for workers and their families.