Here in the UK the relationship between unions and business has always been hostile and unproductive and since the 1980s the unions in the UK have been stripped

Here in the UK the relationship between unions and business has always been hostile and unproductive and since the 1980s the unions in the UK have been stripped of any effective power. I think if our unions were more like Germany's which have board representation and pay determined by collective bargaining - then I'd be more inclined to join. Another difference between the UK and Germany is what happens to workers when technological innovation occurs. For example there have been strikes by the RMT union against driverless trains on London's underground. Initially this appears to be counter-progressive, striking against what is an advancement in technology. In Germany these workers would be retrained so that their careers would not be destroyed. The UK does not retrain workers when they are made redundant.