Development of Trade Union Organizing as a Historical Legacy and a Constitutional Right

Abstract

Throughout history, trade union organization has undergone significant reforms and changed as the organization of the state itself has changed. Trade union organization went through three historical phases: the phase until the nineteenth century, the phase from the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, and the final phase in the twenty-first century. Trade union organization followed the organization of the first states, through which workers defended their labor rights under primitive conditions in a primitively organized way. The first modern forms of trade union organizing were experienced in the territory of the United Kingdom, which is also considered the forerunner of trade union organizing. The right to organize a trade union, although today one of the fundamental collective rights, is increasingly becoming the subject of discussions and dilemmas, whether this right is really necessary in labor relations and, in the end, in constitutions of a large number of countries, as a promotion of economic and social rights. The paper could be divided into three parts, firstly the authors want to define the historical development of trade union organization, the process of developing in the countries of the world, what are the key historical moments in which this right made and contributed to “a quality more” in labor relations, and which were the first laws-constitutions that provided for this fundamental right today. The second part of the paper refers to the current normative legal situation in the Republic of Serbia regarding trade union organization and specifically trade union rights. The third part actually represents the main purpose of the paper, which is to point out some potential problems in the twenty-first century that union organizing in the international community is facing.